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
Mike
October 14th, 2009
11:36 am
Hudson is building his dream house. It’s 25,000+ square feet in Auburn. Still not complete, but getting there. I drive by it every day on my way to and from work.
CraZyTRaDeMaN
October 14th, 2009
11:38 am
kaygeeone……..
How can we trade Adam he is not under contract?
Windale
October 14th, 2009
11:38 am
Mark- My main concern with this is that Vasquez has never been consistent for 2 consecutive years. This could really be a set back for the pitching staff.
Don
October 14th, 2009
11:40 am
The AJC needs to conduct a weekly contest during the 2010 season – Seeing what fan can name the worst Bobby Cox blunder for the week – or it could be on a daily basis.
Tell it like it is
October 14th, 2009
11:41 am
I say let him go he does’t care about the braves all he cares about is the money and we have a whole team of those kind.
O.J.
October 14th, 2009
11:41 am
Maybe the Braves already told him that they were going to decline his option and that if he wanted to stay with us for a lower per year extension then they could talk, or if he wanted to try his hand at the free agent market, be their guest. And then maybe Huddy’s agent just put the spin out there that Hudson was the one in control and he declined the option.
Art Vandalay
October 14th, 2009
11:56 am
not a huge deal, i like Hudson, and obviously think he is better than KK and Lowe but they are under contract and Hudson is not. Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson are the future and if Medlen pitches next year like he did out of the bullpen in the second half can you imagine the next 5-10 years having JJ, Tommy, and Medlen to head that rotation? Mix the with Vazquez next year and that makes Derek Lowe your 5th starter and KK showed he is useful out of the ‘pen.
This frees up all of the Braves finances for a bat, every piece of the rotation is under contract and you put KK in the middle of the pen with Moylan and re-sign Gonzalez because he will be less than Soriano you spend minimal money on pitchng this year. That MIGHT give the Braves the money to work out a two year deal with LaRoche and sign an outfielder not a great class but someone like Jermaine Dye, Bobby Abreu, or Xavier Nady would be all you need if Heyward is as advertised. This looks good to me:
1.Nate McLouth -CF
2.Martin Prado -2B
3.Chipper Jones- 3B
4.Brian McCann-C
5.Adam LaRoche-1B
6.Yunel Escobar-SS
7.Jermaine Dye/Bobby Abreu/Xavier Nady-LF
8.Jason Heyward-RF
Thats as solid a lineup as even the Phillies then you potentially have Kelly Johnson, Matt Diaz and Omar Infante coming off your bench thats the best lineup in the NL.
DANG
October 14th, 2009
11:56 am
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com = CRAP! DOB GOT IT STRAIGHTEN OUT! TAKE THIS ARTICLE DOWN NOW. THANK YOU
Wayne
October 14th, 2009
12:00 pm
Let us clear the air. Hudson and Cox are not friends. In fact Hudson does not like Cox or his constant show of favortism. And given to the fact that Cox has no idea of how to manage pitchers-especially relievers-this is an easy move for Tim. Go where you will be appreciated by your manager. Cox the “Good Old Boy”, I love you veterns is just another ugly smear on a good organization. He has stayed well beyond his time. Social Security starts at a certain age for a good reason. Brain Dead Bobby will screw it up again.
Ramblin Wrecker
October 14th, 2009
12:00 pm
What I find interesting is that Tim Hudson would skip out on the final season of Bobby Cox’s career. Like you said, why would he pass up a guaranteed $12 million next year for the unknown amount he’d get in free agency for 2010. Why not take the $12 million to stay in your comfort zone, play one more year for Bobby Cox and improve your free agency bonafides with a successful 2010 season?
Oh well, I guess that puts the Javier Vasquez trade discussion to bed. They’ll go into the season with their starting 5 in tact (with Kris Medlen waiting in the wings for injury or total failure by one of the big 5) and will have the $12 million that they paid to Hudson to spend on that big right handed power bat they desperately need and to cover a raise to Mike Gonzalez to keep him around.
Matt
October 14th, 2009
12:03 pm
So much for all of the talk he has done on sports/talk radio around here about willing to give the hometown discount, that is IF this is true. Buy him out at the cheaper rate and use the money for a bat. Bring KK back to the rotation and we’re good.
PMC
October 14th, 2009
12:04 pm
He’s probably going to sign a longer term deal with less than 12M on it this year. He obvioulsy wants to stay here and they obviously need a chunk of that change to make the necessary additions.
Braves Fan
October 14th, 2009
12:05 pm
C’YA
Ray Pugh
October 14th, 2009
12:06 pm
In response to this article, DOB paraphrased that Huddy said, and I quote, “He said he was surprised to see the story and how it portrayed him, said it was a misunderstanding” and that “he hopes to work out an extension.” So before all you braindead reactionary nimrods go off and call Huddy greedy and a traitor, get your facts straight. If you don’t know, say so and go back to watching Days of Our Lives or whatever you’re doing during this time of day.
Oh, and Bradley, please do a little more background research before you start chipring and whip your little monkeys into a frenzy…
MAC
October 14th, 2009
12:16 pm
Jeremy is right. Lowe is a durable sure thing, Hudson is a wild card. Lowe was tied for fourth in NL wins last year, and is consistent with another near 200 inning year. Granted it wasn’t his best year but it’s a no brainer to choose Lowe over Hudson.
Braves will need $15 mil a year to have a shot at Holliday, but there are other hitting options out there.
Ray Pugh
October 14th, 2009
12:22 pm
We’re not gonna sign Holliday retards: if that were Frank Wren’s philosophy, don’t you think we would have made a meaningful push at Texiera? There are plenty of bats out there to be had (Uggla, Nelson Cruz, Xavier Nady, Pat the Bat Burrell) who, paired w/ LaRoche, could equal or exceed the production of Holliday or Bay for much less commitment in terms of both contractual amount and duration.
RobertNAtl
October 14th, 2009
12:23 pm
I would just as soon Hudson leave and use his money as a down payment on Carl Crawford. We need some speed on this team.
rufues
October 14th, 2009
12:24 pm
Atlanta why do you put all your money on three or fours guys, who will likely be out a large part of the season. Let Hudson go somewhere else he won’t be miss, Let Chipper go somewhere else, and throw in Lowe as part of the deal. Do not keep LaRoche, he’s only good for part of the year. Get a steady First baseman. Think about it does it rally matter with Bobby Cox coming back, along with the worse hitting coach in the Majors Terry Pendleton.
Skeezix
October 14th, 2009
12:32 pm
Mark: Have you talked to Hudson, Wren, or Cox about this? Sounds like speculation–a Fox specialty. I’m not putting much stock in this Rosenthal report.
Kris in NC
October 14th, 2009
12:36 pm
It seems Huddy has disputed Ken Rosenthal’s story. It seems Kenny Boy used some “unnamed” major league baseball source instead of going direct to the person who was the object of the story namely Tim Hudson.
Huddy has made it clear over and over that he would be willing to take a “hometown” discount to stay with the Braves and he would decline his option, which was a mutual option in order to do a longer deal.
Rosenthal needs to do a little more homework and check his sources alittle more closely before running with his story. Let’s hope Rosenthal prints a retraction to what he previously wrote.
DANG
October 14th, 2009
12:38 pm
MARK LIKES TO COPY AND PASTE
Mark
October 14th, 2009
12:39 pm
I would love to see Hudson come back but if not, I wish him well. I find it hard to understand the personal attacks. Hudson a traitor? I thought he got hurt playing for his team and they continued to pay him during his rehab. Isn’t that the way its supposed to work? It isn’t like he blew out his elbow riding a dirt bike. Hudson had his surgery, did his rehab, and came back late in the year and showed he was healthy.
During the baseball post season, there are these nice breaks between the different series that need to be filled by speculation. You can bet that if the previous series had extended to five games each, this rumor would have waited for next week’s or the following week’s news cycle. The point is don’t put much stock into these rumors.
Remember that at this time last year we were talking about an ‘09 rotation of Glaving, Smoltz, JJ, maybe Hanson, and we hoped for a fifth or an early return by Hudson. Later we also thought we had Ken Griffey in left, and we were prepared for a comeback by Francouer. Infante was going to provide us with awesome depth. All this tells me to wait for the actual signings (not the rumored signings like Furcal and Griffey).
It’s also important to plan for injuries, meaning a team can’t have too much depth. Six starters is not an issue as much as only four. Heaven forbid that something happens to one of our starters, but injuries do happen. I liked having two qualified closers, and Medlen as a swing man.
All of that said, where is the depth in the hitting area? We need some power in the outfield, and at first. We also need to find someone to play third for about 60 games a year. I believe Wren sees the holes, and I wish him well. I am looking forward to next season.
Mark Bradley
October 14th, 2009
12:39 pm
The above post now reflects Tim Hudson’s comments to Dave O’Brien, in which Hudson denies Rosenthal’s report and contends he’ll take a hometown discount to remain a Brave.
Mark
October 14th, 2009
12:45 pm
So, if the Braves offer and Hudson declines (becoming a free agent), and the Braves then sign Hudson to a muitiyear deal, does that mean that Rosenthal is correct and Hudson did opt for free agency?
Mark Bradley
October 14th, 2009
12:48 pm
If you read Rosenthal’s report, you’ll note that he doesn’t say Hudson will never pitch for the Braves again. He says Hudson is planning to become a free agent. That might sound like splitting hairs, but it really isn’t.
preston
October 14th, 2009
1:07 pm
Latest AJC headline regarding Hudson….Hudson: I want to stay in ATL 12:15 p.m.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
Joe Schmoe
October 14th, 2009
1:13 pm
The problem I have with signing Huddy is what do we do with the one extra pitcher in the rotation? Who is the odd man out? Is it Lowe or Kawikami? Who would want to take their contracts?
preston
October 14th, 2009
1:18 pm
Ok dont get me wrong Tin Hudson is a decent pitcher, but he has been with the braves since 2005, with his best season coming in 2007 where he went 16-10 and pitching only one complete game. He hasn’t even come close to establishing himself as a dominate pitcher with the braves and I think his salary is outweighing his impact and performance with the team, and he should be the odd man out. I like the direction that the braves are heading in with their current pitching staff, whom performed as good as any pitchers in the N.L going down the stretch……a couple of breaks here and there and they could have possible made it into the playoffs……all they need at this point is a big bat in the lineup and a few good role players comming off of the bench, and they will be fine.
fieldofdreams
October 14th, 2009
1:36 pm
Hudson and his greedy agent should feel free to leave. All things considered, he’s been a diappointment, and our $12 million would be better spent on as big a right-handed bat as we can find. We now have one of the best rotations in baseball, without him. Like the Smoltz and Glavine camps. Hudson and his agent are playing the public relations sound byte game with us, in the attempt to hold Frank Wren hostage during negotiations. “But we were willing to settle for a ‘hometown discount’!” Hopefully Hudson heads Hudson River-ward, where the Mets will no doubt wave more money at him, and we get the pleasure of rocking his only slightly rehabilitated right arm into the Long Island stratosphere.
Dave
October 14th, 2009
3:57 pm
The Braves have some very definite THINGS TO DO on their list in the coming off-season, and they will be done in this order.
End of World Series. Do the Braves exercise the $12M option on Tim Hudson? I would say no!
This is a calculated risk, but the Braves have sufficient depth in their starting rotation to deal from a position of strength here. Once the option is NOT exercised, they then make Hudson an offer of say $27M over three years, with maybe a fourth option year for $10M. If they eventually sign Hudson, great! If not (possibly because the Mets or Cubs or Yankees or Angels or Red Sox overspend with a 5-year, $60M offer), then so be it. One to the next THING TO DO!
Try to sign Adam LaRoche to a two or three year deal for what is the market value for LaRoche (probably $8M per year). The Braves NEED LaRoche’s bat and steady defense at first while Freddie Freeman develops in the minors. Freeman should NOT be rushed, and should be the first baseman of the future starting in 2012.
Once these two items are completed, the rest of the following can be done in whatever order it comes.
Need to sign Soriano or Gonzalez OR BOTH, if it can be done at a reasonable price. Hard to say what kind of offers these two will get from the other teams, but the Braves need ONE of them to be the closer next year, with Moylan as the fallback closer should the market rate for either player become TOO high.
Need to fill in the power gap in the corner outfield positions. Bobby Abreu would be a GREAT fit, but he may have found a home with the Angels, especially if he comes through during the playoffs and World Series. Germaine Dye is also a possibility, but there are a NUMBER of possibilities in the free agent market.
The Braves are NOT going to get Matt Holliday because they cannot compete with the offers that will be forthcoming from the Mets and Red Sox.
If they sign Hudson, then can package Kelly Johnson with either Kawikami or Lowe or (even Vazquez or Hudson, if necessary) to get that power outfield bat via trade if free agency does not produce what they need.
If Jason Heyward shows he is ready for a shot at right field by a great performance in the Arizona Fall League, then let him try to win a spot on the team in spring training. If he struggles, the Braves can get a serviceable outfielder at the end of spring training either off waivers or as a last-second free agent (which is what Abreu was this past spring).
I believe that BOTH Chipper Jones and Brian McCann played WAY too much this past season, especially down the stretch. With Prado and Infante (and possibly Kelly Johnson) available to back up the infield (and Kelly Johnson and Infante can both play some outfield), the Braves have sufficient depth at every position to give the veterans some needed rest during the season.
This is especially true at catcher, where David Ross is an EXCELLENT defensive catcher who can also hit better than most front-line catchers.
With the current starting rotation and most of the bullpens returning, the Braves could have five starters each with 15+ wins in the rotation in 2010. All they need is to get some thunder back into the starting eight position players to make it happen.
Just my humble opinion….
David
October 14th, 2009
4:29 pm
Rosenthal’s a “I said it first” type of reporter. He hears a rumor on a breeze and goes public with it in the small chance that it’s true and he’s the first to report it. That’s how he plays the game folks. Take it with a grain of salt. I’m sure he has good contacts in the business, but I’d trust your local guys like OBrien and to a lesser extent Bowman for credible information regarding our Bravos.
David
October 14th, 2009
4:41 pm
Folks, something else to consider, being stocked in one area means other areas will be neglected. This year was proof of that. I’ve said it on here before, but a successful team only needs 4 decent starters (1 to 2 aces, and 1 to 2 mid-rotation guys) to be competitive, not 5. Plug youngsters (Medlen) or inning eaters (is Albie Lopez still available) in the 5th spot and focus finances elsewhere. The Braves have too much money tied up in their rotation. This is hopeful thinking, but unloading Lowe’s contract would be HUGE. He won’t be as bad as he was at the end of this season, but he will never be worth $15mil.
If they don’t unload one or two of the large contracts in the rotation, even if they find a big bat to put in the middle of the order, there won’t be any money left for the bullpen. Tough choices this offseason.
Frank Wren
October 14th, 2009
6:06 pm
With 3 years left on a 15 million per year contract, who in their right mind would take Lowe’s contract off our hands?
Brown Foreigner
October 14th, 2009
6:41 pm
I am goin to put it simply for all you debaters….. Trade D Lowe and K Johnson for Big Papi….i know…..your shocked from your own stupidity!!!
Jim
October 14th, 2009
6:42 pm
The Braves have too many holes to fill and not enough money to spend to seriously compete next year.
Here is what will help build the team long term thinking 2-3 seasons down the road.
*Trade Vasquez
*Let Hudson leave
*Let Gonzo leave
*Let Soriano leave
*Let LaRoach leave
*Get a top closer
*Spend on a high quality OF
*Make Diaz the everyday LF
*Sign a lower grade free agent 1B to a 1-2 year contract to buy time and fool the general public into thinking that we are gearing up for next year when in fact we are gearing up for 2011-2012.
*Save money so it can be spent on better options
*Sign Kelly Johnson to be the next Greg Norton.
Brown Foreigner
October 14th, 2009
7:44 pm
jim
the whole reason to play baseball is to win not to wait for the next 3 years
v8dreaming
October 14th, 2009
7:52 pm
they need to resign laroche. he can put up the 30hr/100rbi season they need. i don’t know why, but he seems to play better for them than for any other team.
bobby needs to quit screwing with the line-up every other day.
i hope they keep hudson and unload lowe. lowe sucks.
Jim
October 14th, 2009
9:53 pm
The reason of playing is to win, but…
Would you rather enjoy say a 3-5 year run of NLCS and World Series appearances or would you like your season to end a week later (after round 1 of playoffs) year after year?
MK
October 14th, 2009
10:39 pm
Your View
Braves biggest need for 2010 is …
First baseman
Outfielder
Bullpen help
Big hitter
New Manager XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bobby Cox
October 14th, 2009
11:31 pm
In addition to putting Kelly Johnson back on second and having Martin Prado in right, I’m thinking of having Greg Norton as roving minor league hitting instructor. Tommy Glavine looked good in our simulated games. We can trade this upstart Hanson and replace him with Glavine.
scottbravesfan
October 15th, 2009
1:32 am
The Braves should keep Lowe and Hudson. They could probably get a team to bite on Kawakami because his ERA was not that bad. Lowe is a good pitcher and has always been money in the playoffs he just had a bad second half his first season in Atlanta. And Atlanta can afford both Liberty needs to open up the pocket book. 98 million dollar payroll for the third most popular team in major league baseball only behind the Yankees and Red Sox who play in the 8th largest market with a huge regional fan base. Spend some money make this team a legit contender again and the team will draw 3 million fans easy. People get tired of this half assing it that the Braves do. They fixed the rotation last year too bad the lineup had HUGE holes in it. And they still don’t have a legit closer no matter how good people think Soriano is.
tbhawksfan
October 15th, 2009
9:06 am
Agree with scott.
KK could briong aninteresting trade as teams realize they don’t have the starters they need (about 75% of the league). He’s pretty good and not very expensive.
Sign LaRoche and Hudson at a home discount.
Heyward will be ready by June when they want to call him up. Schaefer will make another run at the roster when he’s healthy.
Trade KK and change for a need (3B, OF).
Keep Gonzalez, he’s cheaper than Soriano.
Few good moves from a better season. 2011 looks to be the Braves time though.
I’d love to move Chipper for some youth with potential.
DawgDad
October 15th, 2009
2:12 pm
“The Braves 2 major mistakes last year that will cost us are D Lowe and Chipper Jones.” – Agreed, this is the reason the Braves will NOT win next year, and probably not the next, either.
I like Hudson; he can go deeper in a game than most starters. But he’s minimum 3-years $30 million, and that’s redundant with Lowe and too expensive (or risky) to keep both. Let him walk; sign Holliday to play left, park Heyward in right, with Diaz and Church backing them up (those guys eliminate Norton, thankfully, and Infante-as-outfield-imposter is no longer a necessity).
Chipper at this point is $15 million or so right off the top of your payroll for no measurable return, thus your effective payroll is really $70-75 million tops. Lowe is a huge risk along the same lines as Chipper. Kelly Johnson or Infante should net a decent bullpen arm. LaRoche is needed, but is he affordable? I see another 81-88 win season ahead unless we do sign Holliday and Heyward becomes a rookie-of-the-year candidate.
Brown Foreigner
October 15th, 2009
5:31 pm
Jim
i would take my chances and win…..u a dumbass!!!
Nancy
October 15th, 2009
5:42 pm
Who cares if the grotesquely overpaid Hudson stays. Good riddance I say.
Rick
October 16th, 2009
2:05 am
Sign Huddy you bunch of investor profit driven cheapo a$$es!!!
He is a steady winner… Steady is hard to find.
HAL
October 18th, 2009
11:59 pm
an overaged over paid player ohh wait we goyt the posterchild for that starment lkast winter ppl callexd him loaf lol
Its all crap
October 30th, 2009
8:36 am
Seems to me that all of your want a local owner but the real problem is there are no fans in the seats to support the team. You want top of the line players on the field, take you butts to a game and support what it is your asking for. Season tickets every year and I can still move my seat way way down in the stands. Its just sick the local fan support here.