Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, who spent the annual general manager meetings extolling the virtues of Jim Riggleman, wasted no time Thursday backing up his words.

Riggleman, 57, the Nationals' interim manager since July, was given the permanent title Thursday, receiving a two-year contract with an option for 2012. He beat out several outside candidates, including Bobby Valentine, the former major league manager who spent the last six years with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.

"I thought he did a great job for us," Rizzo said of Riggleman during the GM meetings in Chicago. "He worked well with our young players, and they responded to him. He did the best he could with what he had on the field. I was very impressed."

This is Riggleman's fourth managerial stint. He previously managed the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners.

Hudson back:

The Atlanta Braves gave themselves an abundance of pitching depth by signing Tim Hudson to a three-year, $28 million contract. He'll earn $9 million a year with a $9 million club option in 2013 or a $1 million buyout.

The Braves have six starters under contract, and acknowledged they are open to trading one. They are expected to keep talented 23-year-olds Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens, but could move Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez or Kenshin Kawakami.

"We felt like the strength of our ballclub was the starting rotation," Braves general manager Frank Wren said, "and we wanted to continue to have that as our strength. Now we have the ability to go out and continue to mold our ballclub.

"Quite frankly, I don't know what it's going to look like on opening day, but it's starting to take form. This is the first step."

Pavano's market:

A year ago, agent Tom O'Connell spent the winter imploring teams to make an offer for starting pitcher Carl Pavano. This winter, O'Connell's phone is ringing frequently after Pavano went 14-12 — his best season since 2004, after which he signed a four-year, $39.95 million deal with the New York Yankees.

"Last year winter, there was a lot of speculation how healthy he'd be," O'Connell says. "Teams that were leery a year ago have a much different perspective on Carl now. He's fully recovered and back to where he was the last time he hit the market."

Short hops:

The Yankees did not meet with any agents in Chicago, GM Brian Cashman said, leaving open the likelihood they'll let outfielders Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon hit free agency. The Yankees are looking at Matsui strictly as a DH, Cashman says. And Matsui plans to stay in the major leagues for at least three more years, agent Arn Tellem says. ... The Detroit Tigers are listening to offers on virtually all of their players, President Dave Dombrowski says. He denies they are having a fire sale. ... Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek exercised his $3 million option for 2010. Meanwhile, the Red Sox met with agent Scott Boras to talk about free agent outfielder Matt Holliday, a contingency if they can't re-sign Jason Bay. ... Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd was elected by his peers as the executive of the year. ... Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says he won't publicly discuss the availability of ace Roy Halladay this winter. ... The liveliest discussion among GMs at their meetings, Major League Baseball vice president of baseball operations Jimmie Lee Solomon says, focused on the ramifications of taxes on fringe benefits such as tickets and World Series rings.

Enlarge By Richard Clement, Reuters Washington Nationals newly named manager Jim Riggleman sits at a news conference at Nationals Park in Washington. Riggleman served as the team's interim manager for the last half of the 2009 season.