Milton Bradley, Adam Dunn, & Orlando Hudson to the Washington Nationals?

Bill Ladson of Nationals.com reported on Tuesday that the Nats are interested in first baseman Adam Dunn, second baseman Orlando Hudson, and outfielder Milton Bradley.

That would elicit the following response from me: Great, good, and what are you thinking?

Actually, let me think about that for a moment.

Dunn would plug the hole at first with amazing consistency. He'd hit somewhere around .250-40-100 with a .900 OPS and 180 strikeouts.

Defense is another story, though, as the 28-year-old reminds me a lot of Frank Howard at first.

And that's not terribly good. In fact, that's just terrible.

If the Nationals sign Dunn, it's for his hitting, not his fielding.

Orlando Hudson says he's willing to play for the Nationals, so my guess is if the team has the high bid, they have Hudson.

Hudson is the antithesis of Dunn defensively, having won three Gold Gloves during his career. True, he's lost a little range, but at age 32, he is still a fine fielder, certainly much better than anyone who has ever played in Washington.

Over his career, Hudson has averaged .282-13-70 with a .346 OBP and .779 OPS, solid numbers but not overpowering.

Here is his scouting report from TSN.com

Assets: A nifty all-round performer, he is especially gifted with the glove. Is also a vocal team leader on and off the field.

Flaws: Offensively, he's a jack-of-all trades but a master of none. While spectacular with the glove, sometimes he makes the easy play look hard. Prone to streaks.

Career Potential: Gold Glove all-star second baseman

How much will Dunn and Hudson cost the Nationals? While it's hard to say, I think the total tab would come in at or under what the Yankees paid for Mark Teixeira.

Here is how an infield of Dunn, Hudson, Cristian Guzman, Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores would hit, at least based on their career averages for a full season:

1B- Adam Dunn: .247-40-96, .381 OBP

2B- Orlando Hudson: .282-13-70, .346 OBP

SS- Cristian Guzman: .270-7-54, .307 OBP

3B- Ryan Zimmerman: .282-21-94, .343 OBP

C- Jesus Flores: .252-8-50 (based on 130 games played)

That's a solid infield, don't you think?

Zimmerman could easily hit .290-30-120 and Flores .270-10-60; they are both young and still learning.

Defensively, Hudson is a gold glove winner, Zimmerman will be one soon, Guzman is a "silver glove" defender and Flores will be extremely solid one day.

But this Milton Bradley thing, I don't know about.

He's 30 years old (I thought he was a lot older) and has a really bad temper, reminding many of Elijah Dukes.

Dukes and Bradley in the same outfield?

I wouldn't want to be Josh Willingham.

His scouting report is glowing:

"Bradley has the total package of speed, arm strength, switch-hitting ability, power and defensive prominence. Can come through in the clutch."

He's been oft injured which is a concern though. Bradley has the longest injury report of any player I've ever seen, and that includes Nick Johnson.

And while he's not a gold glove fielder, he's close. In seven seasons, he's committed just 16 errors in center. He has good range and a power arm. He would be a major upgrade defensively from Lastings Milledge.

Offensively, he's solid, but not that much better than what Milledge will (probably) give the Nationals in time.

He's averaged .280-20-80 with a .370 OBP and 15 steals. Playing for the Rangers last year, Bradley hit .321-22-77 in just over 400 at-bats. A switch hitter, Bradley has been remarkably consistent, batting .270 vs. righties and .303 vs. lefties, .278 before the all-star game and .282 after. He's hit .273 at home and .286 on the road.

No question, if he stays healthy, he is a difference maker. He's not Reggie Jackson, but he is clutch.

Were the Nationals to sign Milton Bradley, they would likely have an outfield of Josh Willingham in left, Bradley in center and Elijah Dukes in right. Here is how their numbers would look, again based on their 162 game averages:

LF- Willingham: .266-25-85, .361 OBP

CF- Bradley: .280-20-80, .371 OBP

RF- Dukes: .266-26-88, .386 OBP, 30 steals

I'm only including Dukes' 2008 stats in his averages; I think getting arrested tweaked his 2007 numbers to the point where I don't think they are relevant.

Lastings Milledge has tremendous upside, but he isn't a center fielder. He would probably be traded in a package for starting pitching.

There is no question that the Nationals won't sign all three of these players, but they could, probably should, sign two of them.

Which two?

I vote for Dunn and Bradley as long as Dunn's contract is long and Bradley's is short. Ronnie Belliard is a solid hitting second baseman and his career average .275-13-68 over 162 games is almost identical to that of Orlando Hudson. He just isn't the same defensive player.

But does it really matter? The 2005 Nationals had a second baseman with the range of a tree and they still won 81 games.