In late December, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the return of relief pitcher Daniel Hudson on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
He will earn $2 million if he makes the Dodgers at any point of the season.
According to manager Dave Roberts, that point will be the start of it all: Opening Day.
“Daniel Hudson ‘will be in our bullpen,’ Dave Roberts said. Hudson is on a minor league deal that has an opt out, but there’s no ‘hard date’ to decide if he’ll make the club out of camp,” Dodgers insider Fabian Ardaya tweeted.
Daniel Hudson “will be in our bullpen,” Dave Roberts said. Hudson is on a minor league deal that has an opt out, but there’s no “hard date” to decide if he’ll make the club out of camp.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 6, 2024
Hudson, who appeared in just three games last season in his return from a torn ACL in his left knee, went down with a season-ending MCL sprain in his right knee.
He had a perfect ERA in those three innings, and a 2.22 mark in 24.1 frames in 2022.
If healthy, the veteran right-hander is capable of taking care of high-leverage innings in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
That’s the key part: finding perfect health.
Roberts recently said that Hudson is still sorting some “pitch execution stuff” out.
The Dodgers are deep enough to be without him for some time, with Blake Treinen, JP Feyereisen, Alex Vesia, Ryan Yarbrough, Joe Kelly, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier, and Brusdar Graterol.
Still, if Hudson is ready for Opening Day – he has a chance – the team will like to save a spot for him.
He has had success in the regular season (3.79 ERA) and the playoffs, winning the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals.
LA needs all the playoff experience it can get.
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