Jack Macgruder of the East Valley Tribune reports a major gap between second baseman Orlando Hudson and D’Backs management. Macgruder says Hudson seeks something close to the $15MM per year Chase Utley received to cover his free agent seasons.
Hudson seems to be asking for too much, but maybe it’s just his starting point. Aaron Hill seems like a better comparable than Utley, and Hill has options for his free agent years at around $8MM. Brandon Phillips’ free agent years were valued in the $11-12MM range; Ian Kinsler gets $7-10MM. It does seem that Hudson could crack a $10MM salary in free agency, but he won’t get Utley money.
Mark Ellis is probably Hudson’s main competition in the ’09 free agent market. Ellis could ask for a $6-7MM salary. Teams that might be looking to upgrade at second base after this season include the White Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Rockies.
