Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Los Angeles Signs Daniel Hudson to Minors Deal

The Dodgers front office continued their trend of small acquisitions on Monday, signing reliever Daniel Hudson to a minor league deal. Hudson was traded from the Pirates to the Rays in February and then released by Tampa Bay a month later. He struggled in his Spring outings with Tampa, allowing nine earned runs over 5.1 innings of work. Hudson also walked five with just six strikeouts.

It has been quite some time since Hudson was an effective reliever, but he was solid before 2012. From 2009 to 2011, Hudson posted a 3.19 earned run average and owned a 3:1 K/BB ration. Not overwhelming numbers, but certainly effective in the later innings of a close game.  Hudson was mostly used as a starter during those decent seasons. His transition to the bullpen did not go as well as hoped.



Since his move to the bullpen in 2014 Hudson has accumulated a 4.59 era in 208 appearances. His strikeouts per nine innings rose to over 9.2, but his walks also increased. While it’s unclear how Hudson will fit into the Dodgers’ plans, it’s easy to see why they picked him up. A

 

At this point in his career, Hudson profiles as a low-risk for the Dodgers with plenty of potential upsides. If he can return to anywhere close to his form from the early years of his career then Los Angeles will get some great value out of him. While he is especially prone to injuries in his throwing arm, Hudson could be a nice pickup for this thrifty front office.

Outlook

The good news is that if he doesn’t pan out, no real money has been wasted. And as the pitching staff demonstrated in last night’s game, the organization is in real need of backup at the minor league level. Not a bad idea to have an eight-year veteran waiting in the wings should his services be required.

And who knows, we’re always looking for Brandon Morrow 2.0

 

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