Adam Dunn has played for the Washington Nationals for the past two seasons, so odds are that he either lives or at the very least has a residence in the area. The Nationals have apparently made it quite clear to Dunn that they're either not interested in his services for 2011, or they don't want to pay him. Why any team wouldn't be interested in a guy that normally hovers around 40 HR's a game is beyond me (Dunn hit 38 last season). So the fact is that Dunn's on the open market as we speak.
The O's need to address the first base position this off season. In effect, Rafael Palmeiro was the last full-time first baseman that the Orioles had. Since 2005, the O's have had a series of guys such as Aubrey Huff and Ty Wiggington that have platooned at the position. While that's not necessarily a big problem per se, ultimately most good teams have solid options at each position. From what I've heard through various media, Dunn wants to stay in the NL because he wants to play in the field. If I were Andy MacPhail, I'd say done. Having a full-time first baseman would allow the O's to platoon (or play with) the third base position, especially if it's deemed that Josh Bell isn't the solution at that spot (at least in the interim).
I remember a game against the Nats at Oriole Park in 2009 where Dunn hit a monster shot onto Eutaw St. I'd love to see him hitting those kinds of homers on a regular basis from section 17. The lower half of the Orioles' lineup seemed to struggle royally last year; that would cease to be the case. With Roberts leading off, potentially followed by Jones, and then Markakis and Dunn, the Orioles might start scaring some teams. Nationals' third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's stats seemed to be affected by Dunn's presence; so why wouldn't those of Markakis and Jones? So I'm supporting Adam Dunn for first baseman for the O's in 2011 to say the least!
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