Hudson and Bartlett to start at Second and Short in 2012?

Wow!  The Padres have been doing quite a bit of wheeling and dealing this offseason.  I for one am happy that San Diego has begun to put their excess of Pitching at the minor league level to good use and gone to acquire some bats and fill some holes at positions of need on their roster.

If Carlos Quentin is not locked up long term, he may at least be a one to two year stop-gap in the Outfield.  In addition, the Padres might get some Draft Pick compensation if he leaves as well.  Hell, San Diego might even be willing to “show him the money” if Quentin plays up to his potential in 2012 which would be good for all parties involved.  Regardless though, new G.M. Josh Byrnes has been reunited with Quentin after calling his trade of him to Chicago in December 2007 a big mistake.

Yet even though the Padres have found somewhat of an answer to their litany of Corner Outfield questions, San Diego still has some issues on their roster, most notably Second Base and Shortstop.  Many Padres fans have been clamoring for San Diego to find adequate replacements for Orlando Hudson and Jason Bartlett.  This is of course after both had disappointing 2011 seasons and both currently chew up a large portion of San Diego’s payroll.  I for one am on the “dumping of both Bartlett and Hudson bandwagon,” but apparently the Padres are looking to stick with both for at least the beginning of the season.

On New Year’s Eve, Padres beat writer Corey Brock tweeted that San Diego will have both Bartlett and Hudson starting in 2012 at SS and 2B.

When I read this tweet my mind went numb for a second.  I mean, Hudson is rumored to be a bad teammate and headcase and Bartlett’s production has been declining on offense the last couple of years.  Furthermore, both guys are some of the most expensive players on the roster for a small payroll team like San Diego.

But from a “glass-half-full” perspective, I guess it isn’t too awful if the Padres decide to keep Bartlett and Hudson in 2012.  Bartlett and Hudson are veteran players who can fill in for the time being until San Diego can get Jedd Gyorko or another minor leaguer or two up to the bigs. late in the season.  The Free Agent market for Middle Infielders this season is sparse, and unless the Padres can move Anthony Rizzo and get a 2B or and SS in exchange, we could be looking at Bartlett and Hudson until the All-Star Break.

I know that I will be following this situation closely.  I’ll also be crossing my fingers that one or both of these guys can step their games’ up in 2012, because for what the Padres are paying them, they need to produce until some youngsters can work their way up or new talent can be acquired.

So now I want to hear from you the readers.  Should the Padres seriously consider starting both guys come Opening Day?  Do they have a choice?  Who would make a better choice?  Just let me know.

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