Bradley’s Buzz: FoxSports says Hudson to decline his option
Having been on the mend, is Tim Hudson now on the wing? (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Here’s a a bit of a surprise: Citing “major-league sources,” Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reports Tim Hudson will decline his option to re-up with the Braves and will become a free agent instead. From Rosenthal’s story:
“The Braves are likely to exercise their option on Hudson, a decision that must be made within five days of the completion of the World Series. Hudson then would be required to decide within 10 days of the completion of the Series whether he wanted to return to the team on a one-year deal. He almost certainly would command a longer deal and a greater total guarantee on the open market.”
Update: Dave O’Brien spoke to Hudson this morning, and Hudson denied the report, saying he’d even accept a hometown discount to remain a Brave.
Until Rosenthal’s report, we’d all pretty much assumed Hudson, who returned only in September after Tommy John surgery, would be content to take the the one-year extension at $12 million or perhaps settle for even less. (According to O’Brien, the Hudsons have just built their dream house in Auburn, Ala.) Hudson was 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in seven starts upon his return.
But it would seem difficult for the Braves, who already have five other starting pitchers under contract for next season (not to mention Kris Medlen), to commit to Hudson long-term. Hudson is 34, and the Braves just sunk big money into Derek Lowe, who’s 36, and Kenshin Kawakami, who’s 34. And the focus of this offseason figures to be on a big bat for the outfield, not starting pitching.
If Rosenthal’s report is accurate, that changes things. The Braves could be inclined to let Hudson leave and say, “We’ve got our five guys anyway.” And Rosenthal does say “a last-minute knockout offer from the Braves” could change Hudson’s mind. But it’s hard to see a knockout long-term offer on the table, at least for a 34-year-old who has won more than 14 games only once in a season since becoming a Brave in 2005.
As Hudson told O’Brien: “I’ve said all along that Atlanta was the place I want to be and that I’m willing to give them a hometown discount. I just hope when we start talking, my idea of a hometown discount and their idea of a hometown discount isn’t 5 or 8 million [dollars] apart. That’s the only thing that could put a wrench in the whole thing.”
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198 comments Add your comment
Vermont39
October 14th, 2009
10:17 am
Get a bat!!!
We have arms!!!
12 million is a good start!!!
F-105 Thunderchief
October 14th, 2009
10:18 am
Well, you know what? It’s awfully danged hard to turn your back on more money, even if you’ve got millions. Apparently. I wouldn’t know from experience.
Jim
October 14th, 2009
10:18 am
He probably wants to win a championship.
He realizes that the budgeted salary conscious Braves most likely won’t be a legitimate threat to win it all anytime soon.
Its all crap
October 14th, 2009
10:19 am
This is total bull. Tim Hudson is so much better then Lowe and KK. So they let Tim walk and stick with KK and Lowe. I can also see them trading Vazquez for a hitter. That means our starting rotation will be
Lowe, KK, Jurrjens, Hanson and Medlin. Not good at all in the 1 and 2 stop. Of course with that rotation it will be
Hanson, JJ, Medlin then Lowe and KK. Its a shame the braves cant keep the good players. They are always dealing what we need for another piece of what we need. The trades never seem to work out. Watch the Mets or Phillies sign Hudson and he will rock our clock in the NL East. This is really a dumb thing to do for the Braves. They need to resign our ACE and thats final. If they dont, there will be a lot of Braves fans unhappy with upper management. We have the pitching, we need to keep it and spend just a little bit of money on a hitter. Wow, spend some money Liberty. It wont kill you you know.
smitty
October 14th, 2009
10:20 am
This actually makes things easier for the front office. Save the 12 million and buy a big bat…or 2.
rhynster
October 14th, 2009
10:21 am
Redonkulous.
He’ll wind up in Philly or with the Mets.
You can see it coming a mile away.
BillyJoeToliver
October 14th, 2009
10:22 am
I don’t know why we would trade Lowe when he had the worst year of his career. First, his value is as low as possible, second there is a good chance he will have a better year next year. Plus, he’s not injury prone.
JD
October 14th, 2009
10:23 am
I feel like the Braves are turning into the Indians from the movie “Major League”. Before you know it we will have players on our roster that are dead. I am very angry with the way the Braves have handled every situation since Ted left. Maybe they should go bankrupt to make for an easier sale.
Chris Dunn
October 14th, 2009
10:24 am
Let’s see, Tim wins a Roberto Clemente Award last month and now he cuts out on that same community for more money after the Braves spend a fotune to rehab Tim. I’m sure this is not going to help spur attendance at the Hudson Foundation Benefit next month.
Sad, so sad………..
Bob Cady
October 14th, 2009
10:24 am
Lowe should be in the equation. He had some great run support, but except for a few games, he was not the dominant pitcher we expected. He looked ordinary in his last several starts. Hudson looked great, had one bad outing , would have a better record with slightly more run support, lost a heartbreaker in the late innings, and showed he was back on his game. The Braves have a tough decison and keeping Lowe is not necessarily a slam dunk.
Mort
October 14th, 2009
10:27 am
Lowe has an off year and still wins 15. Hmmmm.
eric the elder
October 14th, 2009
10:30 am
The answer to any question about America is, “Follow the money trail.”
JW
October 14th, 2009
10:34 am
Let him go. Very risky to invest heavily in a pitcher with a damaged arm. Use the $12M to buy a power hitter.
nativeAtlantaInDC
October 14th, 2009
10:36 am
let him go…he’s only won 15 games one time…Lowe is the better option. The braves need a slugger to plug in between chipper and mccann.
we need a hitter like ryan howard. that guy is a game changer….we have the flexability now to get that slugger…..let huddy go to the mets…they have more issues than just pitching…
Billy
October 14th, 2009
10:36 am
Yea, these jerk offs take millions while they rehab… BYE!!!
Reid Adair
October 14th, 2009
10:37 am
I think Tim Hudson saw the proverbial writing on the wall. I thought from the beginning that Frank Wren would be getting rid of Javier Vazquez and Hudson in the off-season. Hudson decided to decline the Braves before the Braves could decline him.
Don
October 14th, 2009
10:38 am
Remember that the only possible way for the Braves to win with Cox managing is to have Pitching so far far superior to all the other teams that it overcomes his management procedures and lack thereof and makes it almost impossible to lose during the long 162 game regular season.
Jim
October 14th, 2009
10:39 am
It’s called “pulling a Mike Hampton”. Get injured, and get the Braves to pay while you rehab, then split.
Don
October 14th, 2009
10:40 am
Is it true that all the Braves games will again be on TBS TV for the 2010 season – This is possible because with Cox back as manager, the games can be classifed as a comedy show.
Don
October 14th, 2009
10:45 am
Forget all the other possible signings and trades, we absolutely must resign Norton — So that our “TRIO OF INCOMPETENCY” will be complets — Cox as the most incompetent Manager, Pendleton as the most incompetent Hitting Coach, and Norton as the most incompetent Pinch Hitter.
Space Monkey
October 14th, 2009
10:45 am
This is great news. Now we get to keep Javy. We couldn’t trade Lowe or KK, so if we kept Hudson, Javy was gone. This is wonderful news. Javy is the key to a great 2010. Pair him with Hanson, JJ, and some hitting and this is a very dangerous team. Take the $12 million and buy a bat. Hope Lowe snaps back. Get a closer. Please, please add some speed. Then this team is a contender.
gene garbage
October 14th, 2009
10:47 am
has anyone noticed a really big similarity with just about all of the teams that made the playoffs? they have a REALLY GOOD hitting first baseman with POWER!!!! i would think that 12 mill would go along way towards someone who could fill that spot.. and no, i don’t think LaRoche is the answer..
EveryDawgHasHisDay
October 14th, 2009
10:47 am
HERE IS AN IDEA. WHY DONT WE TRADE OR TRY TO SIGN JUAN PIERRE(WHO DOESNT EVEN GET TO PLAY FOR THE DODGERS). THIS SOLVES OUR LEADOFF PROBLEM ALSO GIVES US A THREAT ON THE BASEPADS. HE COVERS ALOT OF GROUND IN THE OUTFIELD ONLY DOWNFALL BEING HIS THROWING ARM. WE CAN SIGN THIS GUY FOR A LITTLE OF NOTHING. BUT WHAT DO I KNOW OUR ORGANIZATION IS RUN BY PEOPLE WHO TRADE NO NAMES CALEED ADAM WAINWRIGHT FOR J.D DREW WHO BY THE WAY SAT IN THE TRAINERS OFFICE AND ROTTED IN HIS TENURE AS A BRAVE.
gene garbage
October 14th, 2009
10:49 am
although i would take him if we could get Holliday or Bay..
Manny
October 14th, 2009
10:50 am
I thought that the Braves would have either gotten rid of Hudson or Vazquez. Even though I personally would have liked to have seen Kawakami leave, he just have too much upside. So my money was either Hudson or Vazquez.
I also think that politically, Vazquez would have remained because other players went on record talking about how they want Vazquez on the team and his intangibles. And in this situation, a vote for one player was a vote against another.
So here’s what would have happened: I thought that the Braves would have picked up his option and look for a trade for an infield bat. (Chipper is getting a little past his due date, and I would be looking for a replacement.) Hudson’s agent saw that coming and decided that they want to take control of their destiny, so they declined the option so they can pick and choose where they want to go.
Now where do you think he will go? St. Louis or Boston, IMO. Both needed good starting pitching and the lack of it hurt them. And both are good baseball towns. I think he thinks he can land with a contender and avoid the fire sales and craziness that will happen with bad teams like the Marlins (not bad teams… bad organizations and bad markets.)
midnite
October 14th, 2009
10:51 am
Frank Wren is not going to trade a young stud pitcher like Jurrjens. It is idiotic to even entertain that thought. Why would you trade a solid, young, cheap pitcher?
BamaBrave
October 14th, 2009
10:54 am
This DOES make things easier… I was never that impressed with him anyway, not for the money spent. His best years were wasted in Oakland. I remember being shocked at how much he sweated that first year back in the South. Nice guy, quality individual, I’m sure, but not critical to playoff aspirations.
Go get Jason Bay, FW…
2the9s
October 14th, 2009
10:55 am
Hey Mark – yes, Lowe won 15 games in ‘09, but with the run support he had (tongue-in-cheek) I could have won 10 myself and I am 54 years old
PMC
October 14th, 2009
10:57 am
Personally I hope he uses the new contract to get either a better tattoo or tattoo removal of that booger on his arm.
Let's Go
October 14th, 2009
10:58 am
This is standard procedure folks. First off Hudson would be crazy not to at least look into free agency and second the Braves may offer a 3 year deal at 12 mil a year. Move Lowe to the Bullpen as a 8th inning set up man. If he balks then trade him.
Kevrock/Smarty Jones
October 14th, 2009
11:00 am
Offer the option he declines then he signs with someone else we get draft picks. He really wasn’t that good anyways with us. If you look at his stats he was not the pitcher we were hoping for from Oakland. 34 with a TJ surgery. Let him go….Good Luck…Watch him not even get
10 million….
chas
October 14th, 2009
11:04 am
I think Hudson is a quality pitcher, but you have to look at the numbers: Kawakami’s ERA last year was 3.68 and Tim Hudson’s combined ERA in Atlanta is 3.77. How much more is .09 ERA worth to you on an annual basis? They are the same age and Kawakami is cheaper and hopefully will improve as he gets accustomed to this culture. I am not sure why everyone has trouble with Kawakami. If he had won 15 games with the same ERA would you look at him differently? Did y’all not read or understand the premise of the book Moneyball? Hudson was terrific when he was healthy in Oakland and briefly in Atlanta, but we need stability. Hudson is a big name and probably will get a big salary, but he is probably overvalued. Now we wouldn’t have to worry about trading anyone. I am concerned about Lowe, but he did stay healthy last year in terms of starts. Whether or not father time is wearing him down is another issue. The big bat was what we were missing of course. Chipper is winding down and we need the power. As much as I hate to say it, we should have gotten Adam Dunn even though he is strikeout machine. His OPS is great though.
stamper
October 14th, 2009
11:04 am
This still doesn’t free up enough money to sign either Holliday or Bay. Both of those guys will command at least $15 mil a year this offseason… Furthermore, our pockets aren’t all that deep anyway, especially if the Braves have any intention of re-signing LaRoche, and they’d be idiots not to.
We just don’t have enough money to compete in the Free Agent market. I see our ‘power righty bat’ being acquired through a trade. Maybe a deal with Texas?
All I'm Saying Is...
October 14th, 2009
11:06 am
This is likely Hudson’s last chance in his career at getting a big money deal of any consequence.
There are plenty of teams out there desperate for pitching who will consider him fit enough to be a part of their plans.
He can say that he pitched in the AL and NL and pitched well in both over his career.
At a minimum, given the paucity of starting pitching, he’s worth the risk of 3 years at 10 million per.
Coming off of a major injury, Hudson would either be a fool or someone really willing to roll the dice to take a one year deal with the Braves. Because he would be betting that he’d had a solid to spectacular year in 2010 and that someone would be willing to give a 35 year old starter a multi-year contract. Thanks to Kevin Brown, I don’t think any team is that desperate/stupid anymore but you never know…
Either way, though I’d like to see him retained in some fashion because you can never have enough pitching, Braves will be fine without him.
LET’S GO BRAVES!
Brad
October 14th, 2009
11:07 am
Dream home in Auburn? Thats a contradiction in terms isn’t it?
Pascual Perez
October 14th, 2009
11:09 am
It’s no big secret that Hudson is not coming back, the surprise is that he is opting out as opposed to us having to buy him out. With him opting out, we just saved a $1 million buy out of his contract for next season. There is no way we were going to pay him $12 million next year coming off arm surgery and looking less than impressive at the end of the season after he returned. Remember that this guy made $15.5 million in 09. That’s a lot of money we just saved to get into the Matt Holliday sweepstakes. We’re saving another $13 million from not signing Johnson, Gonzalez, Norton, Anderson, and Church.
Now all we need to do is resign Laroche and Soriano, and offer Holliday $14 million per year for 4 to 5 years. I think that might be out of St. Louis’s price range. We don’t need to worry about the Yankees (outfield set), Red Sox (need to resign Bay), or Dodgers (outfield set). Any other big market teams (Chicago, Angels) will most likely be interested in obtaining pitching. Personally, I like our chances with Holliday given the $28 million in salary we’re dropping from last season. St. Louis may be the only realistic team that we need to out bid.
Let's Go
October 14th, 2009
11:13 am
Don’t assume this is going to happen, Ken Rosenthal’s rumors usually turn out to be wrong more times then not. The potential starting pitcher free agents isn’t as strong as last year but it doesn’t suck either with a lot of guys who fall under the same category as Tim Hudson. Not all but a few of the names:
Josh Beckett * BOS
Erik Bedard SEA
Justin Duchscherer OAK
Adam Eaton COL
Jon Garland * LAD
Rich Harden CHC
John Lackey LAA
Cliff Lee * PHI
Jason Marquis COL
Kevin Millwood * TEX
Brett Myers PHI
Carl Pavano MIN
Brad Penny SF
Joel Pineiro STL
Tim Wakefield * BOS
Jarrod Washburn DET
Brandon Webb * ARZ
Todd Wellemeyer STL
*2010 team or player option
LivinInAL
October 14th, 2009
11:14 am
Baseball business is becoming more like politics than ever. Players and management try to say all the right fan pleasing things in interviews, while creating their private plan behind closed doors.The report tend to put a different spin on Wren’s upcoming planning meeting.
itpdude
October 14th, 2009
11:17 am
Why would we want Hudson back? What has he done for the Braves? He’s a gimp arm who is not going to help the Braves next year or in the next 5 years. He’s a gimp at the end of his career. He’s not a Nolan Ryan or Tom Seaver or even a Glavine. As far as pitching goes, he’s not aging well. Let him go.
Jbird
October 14th, 2009
11:18 am
Any divorce attorney would tell you to put emotions aside and treat this like a business transaction. Hudson’s a good guy and better than average pitcher but primarily has a service to sell.
Tim
October 14th, 2009
11:19 am
Larry, you are an idiot.
Ripped Again
October 14th, 2009
11:25 am
We done found out that Lowe can’t pitch in the GA heat so i say trade him and keep Huddy …
Skeezix
October 14th, 2009
11:27 am
Vasquez, J.J., Tommy Gun over Huddy and then Huddy over Lowe and KK.
Remow
October 14th, 2009
11:27 am
Bradley, your 9:11 comment really put a fine focus on the situation. While Hudson has always been solid he never really pitched like the ace he was supposed to be.
hero at the hudson
October 14th, 2009
11:28 am
Another warm, fuzzy player gone but not missed. Lowe will step it up in 2010. Kawa-whatever will give us some needed wins. JJ and JV and TH cement the rotation. Med same old self. No problemmo. People, give Cox a break, please. Just lookin’ for a RF power-hitter and perhaps 1st B power-hitter. If money does grease the wheels of baseball, no reason to blame Wren. I see a division win in 2010 and pehaps a WS. We’re behind you, Braves. All the way in 2010.
P Rose
October 14th, 2009
11:29 am
I read the news today oh, boy
About Tim Huddy’s plan to make a change
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
This helps their pitching staff
He blew his arm out in a game
Just like Mike Hampton whom they had to pay
Mark Bradley’s bloggers mocked and jeered
They’d seen this crap before
Loyalty is nothing major leaguers know of anymore
I saw Sports Center then oh, boy
The Yanks and Dodgers may have won the war
But real sports fans will turn away
Cause it’s that time of year
Football season’s here
Joe Fan
October 14th, 2009
11:31 am
Hudson is a good pitcher not a great one. The Braves have Medlin should a starter falter. Take the extra money and go get the bat or bats needed.
kaygeeone
October 14th, 2009
11:31 am
No No No! Keep Hudson, send Kawakami to the bullpen for long relief and set-up man. Send Medlen and Shafer along with Laroche anywhere that will take them for either Money or a Big Bat…like Chipper use to be.
Beatle hero
October 14th, 2009
11:32 am
Pete R @ 11:29…….great….liked it better than any of Weird Al’s crap….keep it comin’…..
MitchC
October 14th, 2009
11:33 am
Mark, this move doesn’t completely surprise me. The Braves do have one too many starting pitchers. Better Hudson than Javy Vazquez. That being said, I’m torn.
I would rather have traded Lowe, and kept Hudson. Hudson is younger, and Lowe had a high ERA in 2009. That having been said, even if Hudson does leave, we still have a good rotation with Lowe, Jair, Javier, Hanson, and KK.
We’re probably better off using the money we would have paid Hudson for a good hitter.
Not a terrible loss. If everyone is healthy, the Braves will be fine in 2010 even without Hudson.