Daniel Hudson returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen when he was activated off the 60-day injured list prior to the series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
Hudson suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last June and his path to returning has been a bumpy ride that took just over one year. Hudson made his season debut on Friday, entering in the eighth inning of a 9-3 Dodgers lead.
The 36-year-old gave up an infield single to the first batter he faced, but ended up retiring the next three hitters, which included two strikeouts. After the game, Hudson expressed that he is happy to be back with the team, via SportsNet LA:
“It felt good. It felt good. It’s just fun to be back out there with the guys down in the bullpen. Nothing has changed down there.”
Hudson underwent his surgery on July 11, 2022, and there was an expectation he would be ready for Opening Day, but the recovery time took longer than anticipated.
The right-hander developed ankle tendinitis and continued to experience discomfort in his knee, which allowed some doubt to creep in about his return:
“Yeah, pretty much at the end of Spring Training. We had to shut it down there for a little bit. They told me six to nine months, and it ended up being close to 12. It was definitely frustrating but today came, and we just keep rolling from here.”
Hudson recorded three swings and misses during his inning of work and he averaged 95.2 mph on his fastball, which topped out at 95.9. The velocity was down from his average of 97 mph over the past two seasons, but that is not out of the ordinary as he continues to build up his arm.
Hudson’s spin rates and pitch break were in-line with his averages from last season, and he was overall encouraged by how his stuff performed in his 2023 debut:
“Yeah. Like I said, I felt good. I haven’t really had a chance to check everything, but the ball seemed to be coming out pretty good. I got some pretty defensive hacks on some fastballs, and the slider was pretty sharp. Overall, pretty good.”
Hudson became an important member of the Dodgers bullpen last season before the injury, so if he stays healthy that should be the case again this year.
It would not be surprising to see Hudson work in high-leverage situations and he has experience closing games, which gives Dodgers manager Dave Roberts another option to finish off games if Evan Phillips is needed earlier.
Dodgers roster moves to activate Daniel Hudson
The Dodgers optioned Nick Robertson to Triple-A Oklahoma City and designated Ricky Vanasco for assignment in order to activate Hudson.
Vanasco was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers earlier in the month while Robertson allowed six runs over 7.2 innings in his first stint at the Major League level.
Make sure to follow Dodger Blue on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
