34-year old lefty swinging Adam Kennedy will be the new starting 2B for the Nationals in 2010. He played in 129 games for the Nationals last season and he was 153 for 529 (.289 avg, .758 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 11 homers, 63 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Kennedy is a pesky hitter who should help make the Nationals a better offensive team in 2010. He made 7 errors in 50 games at 2B for the A’s last season while showing poor range. He has the reputation of being better than he showed defensively last season so he should be o.k. for 2010.

26-year old righty swinging Alberto Gonzalez will likely be the top utility infielder for the Nationals in 2010. He played in 105 games for the Nationals last season and he was 77 for 291 (.265 avg, .650 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer and 33 RBIs. Gonzalez played really well defensively at 2B last season as he only made 1 error in 55 games there while showing great range.

31-year old righty swinging Eric Bruntlett will battle for a reserve job for the Nationals this spring. He played in 72 games for the Phillies last season and he was 18 for 105 (.171 avg, .462 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Bruntlett made 2 errors in 13 games for the Phillies last season while showing outstanding range. The thing that Bruntlett brings to the table for the Nationals is that he can play pretty much everywhere except pitcher and catcher.

30-year old lefty swinging Pete Orr will also battle for a backup job this spring for the Nationals. Orr played in 27 games for the Nationals last season and he was 19 for 75 (.253 avg, .619 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He played in 18 games at 2B for the Nationals last season and he made 2 errors while showing outstanding range. He is a solid pinch hitter which could give him an edge in making the Opening Day roster.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: C