It looks like infielder Pete Orr will be returning to the Nationals organization after all. Orr, who was outrighted to Class AAA Syracuse a couple weeks ago and elected to become a free agent, is going to sign a nonguaranteed deal with Washington and come to spring training with a chance to make the club. According to an industry source, he'll earn $600,000 if he makes the big-league roster.

Orr was a likeable, hard-working player for the Nats this season who just didn't get very much playing time. The 29-year-old Canadian hit .253 in 49 games, getting only 75 at-bats. And with a glut of young middle infielders on the roster -- Emilio Bonifacio, Alberto Gonzalez, Anderson Hernandez, Cristian Guzman, Willie Harris, plus veteran Ronnie Belliard -- there didn't appear to be any room for him. So the Nats removed Orr from their 40-man roster and he started looking for jobs elsewhere.

Perhaps Bonifacio's trade to the Marlins opens a sliver of room for a guy like Orr, who can play all three infield positions plus outfield in a pinch.

It'll be interesting to see if Orr wants to play for Team Canada in next spring's World Baseball Classic. He was on the team for the 2006 WBC and was slated to be in the Olympics this summer until the Nats promoted him from Class AAA a couple weeks before the Beijing Games opened. I would imagine the Nats will let him go to the WBC, though you also have to wonder whether missing a prolonged portion of spring training would hurt his chances of making the big-league roster.

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