Braves give pitcher Hudson 3-year deal
Last Updated: Thursday, November 12, 2009 | 2:12 PM ET
The Associated Press
Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson showed positive signs after a long injury layoff. (John Amis/Associated Press)Tim Hudson agreed to a three-year, $28-million US contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, giving the team a wealth of starting pitching and setting up a likely trade to bolster the offence.
Hudson could have returned to the Braves under a $12-million US mutual option, but the two sides focused on a longer deal after the right-hander showed he had overcome major elbow surgery.
His new deal calls for salaries of $9 million in each of the next three seasons, and the Braves get a $9 million club option for 2013 with a $1 million buyout. If Hudson pitches at least 600 innings over the next three seasons, he would receive a $500,000 bonus after the 2012 season.
Hudson, 34, grew up in neighbouring Alabama and said all along he was willing to give the Braves a discount to remain close to home. The agreement was reached quickly after the team completed its post-season organizational meetings.
The pitcher said it actually took longer to schedule a physical and set up insurance for the new contract than the actual negotiations.
"I did all I could do to get healthy and show them they could have confidence in me," said Hudson, who returned to start seven games late in the season after missing a full year. "They came to me with an opening offer than was more than fair. They showed me they really wanted to get something done, as did I."
The Braves now have six starters under contract for next season: Hudson, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami.
Jurrjens (14-10, 2.60 ERA) and Hanson (11-4, 2.89), both 23, are the long-term cornerstones of the staff and Vazquez is coming off one of the best seasons (15-10, 2.87) of his career. Vazquez, who is heading into the final year of his contract, might be the most attractive pitcher in a trade since Lowe (15-10, 4.67) and Kawakami (7-12, 3.86) are both in the middle of expensive, long-term deals.
"We felt like the strength of our ballclub was the starting rotation, and we wanted to continue to have that as our strength," general manager Frank Wren said. "Now we have the ability to go out and continue to mould our ballclub. Quite frankly, I don't know what it's going to look like on opening day, but it's starting to take form. This is the first step."
Hudson, a former 20-game winner in Oakland, was the ace of the Braves' staff until he tore up his elbow during the 2008 season. He underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery and was out for a full year.
But he returned at the end of this past season to go 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in his seven starts, proving to the Braves that his right elbow would be at full strength in 2010.
"I'll tell you what, man, it feels really, really good," said Hudson, who recently began his off-season conditioning program. "It feels just as normal as my left elbow. I didn't think I would ever be able to say that."
Hudson, who was part of a rotation in Oakland that included Barry Zito and Mark Mulder, believes the Braves have a chance to be even better with Jurrjens and Hanson leading the way.
"J.J. and Tommy are two of the best young pitchers I've seen in a long time," Hudson said. "I'm willing to say this is by far the best staff I've been on in my big league career. We have some great pitchers who can go out there and give us a great chance to win every time."
