Maybe not surprising, but interesting to hear so early.
John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus has an article (subscription required) this morning where he runs through five interesting names of arbitration-eligible players who may be available after December 2nd this year. Naturally, J.J. Hardy is on that list. Which, while I don't blame people for it, still doesn't seem to make sense to me: why would the Twins let one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball go?
Then, under his MLB Rumors and Rumblings, he says this:
The Twins have no plans to re-sign Orlando Hudson and will fill the second-base hole internally with Alexi Casilla.
Perrotto doesn't list sources, but he never does in his R&R.
Whether this is true or not will come to light in due course, but this isn't a far-fetched rumor. We've documented how the organization is set up for payroll in 2011, and comparing the costs and benefits of Orlando Hudson and Alexi Casilla tells me that this wouldn't be a terrible move. We also knew that a vast majority of Minnesota's impending free agents would be allowed to walk.
Stay tuned.