Washington Nationals Sign Daniel Hudson

The Washington Nationals just beefed up their bullpen even more as they have brought back Daniel Hudson. Hudson signed a contract to a two year, 11 million dollar contract with an additional 1 million in performance bonuses. This move helps make the Nationals bullpen look strong going into the 2020 season.

Hudson’s Career

Hudson made his major league debut in 2009 with the Chicago White Sox. Hudson was one of the White Sox’s best prospects at the time. In 2011, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks where he got his career going. During that time, he led Arizona to a division title in 2011 and won 16 games. Hudson also won a Silver Slugger in that same year. During his Diamondbacks’ tenure, he went through Tommy John surgery and he would become a reliever from then on. He also had a second Tommy John surgery which most assuredly ended his time as a starter. After becoming a reliever, he became a reliable arm for teams he played for.

Hudson would play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Toronto Blue Jays after leaving Arizona. In 2019, he was traded from the Blue Jays to the Nationals where he became a reliable option for Dave Martinez and helped lead them to a World Championship. Hudson earned four saves in the postseason for the Nationals. 2019 was also Hudson’s best season as he had a 2.47 ERA with eight saves in 69 games pitched. With Washington, he pitched in 24 games with a 1.44 ERA and earned six saves.

Nationals’ 2020 Bullpen

This move only makes Washington’s bullpen even stronger as Martinez will now have three reliable arms in Hudson, Will Harris, and Sean Doolittle. In 2019, the Nationals’ bullpen was absolutely dreadful as they finished with a collective ERA of 5.66. They also blew 29 saves. It would be wise for Washington to add one more arm to complement those three this offseason if they want to be serious contenders in 2020. The biggest question here will be how will Hudson be utilized. Hudson could be the closer or be used in a setup role. Martinez could also use a closer by committee option with these three arms, though that seems unlikely.