The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to be one of the more active teams this offseason, with a solid chunk of room until reaching the luxury tax threshold amid a hefty need at multiple areas of their roster.
Austin Barnes, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Tony Gonsolin, Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor and Max Muncy are the seven Dodgers with guaranteed contracts for the 2024 season, which is among the lowest in baseball. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman saw his starting rotation falter in the postseason, mainly because of a number of injuries that forced the team to utilize top prospects.
But a bright spot for the Dodgers was their bullpen, which found success once roles were ironed out. Unfortunately, Daniel Hudson was among those unable to contribute down the stretch due to suffering a season-ending MCL sprain in his right knee.
The Dodgers held a $6.5 million team option on Hudson for 2024, which they declined and made him a free agent, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
#Dodgers declined the club options on Alex Reyes, Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn and Daniel Hudson. They picked up Blake Treinen’s.
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) November 5, 2023
The final year of Hudson’s deal didn’t include a buyout, unlike with Lance Lynn.
Unfortunately for Hudson and the Dodgers, his time on the field, albeit very impressive, was cut short due to a number of injuries. He suffered an ACL tear in his left knee in 2022, but upon returning this season, went down with the MCL sprain in his right knee.
The 13-year veteran last pitched for the Dodgers on July 5, and in the latter part of the regular season, there was some quiet optimism that he could contribute at the big league level. That plan unfortunately never come to fruition, and Hudson now enters free agency after logging just 27.1 innings over the last two seasons.
Can Daniel Hudson re-sign with Dodgers?
In parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, Hudson owned a 5-5 record with six saves, a 3.31 ERA, 3.54 FIP and 1.13 WHIP, across 73.1 innings pitched in 68 games.
The Dodgers weren’t likely pay Hudson the $6.5 million salary for next season given question marks attached to his health, but they could certainly offer him a new one-year contract with heavy incentives attached.
Hudson’s last outing for the team saw him record a gutsy save against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he loaded the bases with nobody out, escaping without allowing a run.
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