Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Braves pitcher lost last two months due to bizarre ankle injury.
According to this tweet from Mark Bowman of Braves.com…
Frank Wren has provided strong indication he would like Tim Hudson back in the #Braves rotation next year.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 14, 2013
This is further confirmed in a tweet by David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Within that same O’Brien tweet, Braves GM Frank Wren states that if Hudson would return to Atlanta, he would have a “significant role”.
Hudson suffered a broken ankle during a game against the New York Mets on July 24th. On a Eric Young, Jr. grounder, Hudson was going to cover first base. As he arrived at the bag, Hudson stepped directly on top of the bag. Not even a second later, Young stepped directly onto Hudson’s ankle in an attempt to beat out the ground ball after it was muffed.
Just a warning. The following is a video of how Hudson incurred the ankle injury. It is not for the weak of heart.
http://youtu.be/Ub2mxb_IrUc
In his nine years as a member of Braves pitching staff, Hudson has compiled a 113-72 record with an ERA of 3.56 and a WHIP of 1.242. At the midpoint of the 2008 season, it was determined that Hudson would need Tommy John surgery. Hudson would return during the ’09 season, but the next season is where Hudson displayed a return to form.
In 2010, Hudson finished 4th in NL Cy Young voting with a record of 17-9 and a 2.83 ERA. He was also named Comeback Player of the Year.
With the young arms the Braves usually seem to have at their disposal, this might come as a surprise to some. MLBTR’s Steve Adams produced a profile on Hudson as part of his series on potential free agents. Two sentences grabbed my attention.
"“Despite the fact that his season ended in July, Hudson is scheduled to be 100 percent by early- to mid-November, so teams will be able to get a look at him early rather than waiting until after the New Year.”"
And…
"“He’ll turn 39 next July, so his age will also be a factor in negotiations. He joins Hiroki Kuroda and Bartolo Colon as the oldest free agent starters in this year’s class.”"
To state Hudson would produce veteran leadership and a veteran presence would be a vast understatement. The question might be the nature of the role Hudson would assume.
For his career Hudson is 205-111, owns a 3.44 ERA and WHIP of 1.233. Before joining the Braves, Hudson spent seven season with the Oakland Athletics.