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| Tim Hudson while on the Braves |
Tim Hudson, one of the pitchers on my wish list of pitchers to be had in this dismal free agent market, was had, by the Giants to the tune of $23 million for 2 years.
Seeing as the offer he had gotten from the Braves was reportedly a paltry $9 million including incentives I would say that $23 million over 2 years is a bit of an overpay. Here's where I tell you this was a terrible move by the Giants and they spent way too much money on too old a ball player right?
Wrong.
I love this move because what the Giants get here is essentially a 2 for 1. Tim Hudson is one of the most consistent pitchers that were on the market, and so what you get is a solid #4 or #5 starter who will take his start every 5th day, and give you a chance to win. The second thing you get is a veteran who knows what to do to prepare and get ready for games well into his upper 30s, something the Giants desperately need to impart on their own former phenoms Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.
This helps build a bridge to 2015 where Kyle Crick and Clayton Blackburn will start knocking on the big league door, and it also allows the Giants to keep their 14th round pick this year.
All in all, I'm going to peg this as a win.
Consistency is key, and Tim Hudson has it. The last time Tim Hudson had an ERA over 4.00 it was 2006 and he still went 13-12 that year. In fact, Hudson has only had 2 seasons out of 15 major league seasons where he's had an ERA over 4.00 (his other being in Oakland in 2000 when he went 20-6).
If we're going to compare, the other big name free agent targeted was Bronson Arroyo, who throws softer, and over the course of his 14 year career, had an ERA over 4.00 8 times. And by most projections is going to earn more, and demand a longer number of years than Hudson who is only 2 years his senior.
Hudson was injured for a lot of last year due to a freak ankle injury when Eric Young stepped on his foot when Hudson was covering 1st base. Other than that Hudson has been largely devoid of any arm or mechanics issues that might plague him during the season.
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In terms of the money, I know $23 million for 2 years for a pitcher who's 38 years old sounds like a lot, but there's no evidence so far in Hudson's career to show that he's really slowing down at all.
Hudson does not rely heavily on his fastball, he's a sinkerball pitcher with nasty movement and has never been much of a strikeout guy to begin with. His skill set is one that translates well to what he has left talent wise, and he's been doing it pretty well up until now.
But don't get me wrong, In my clip I saw of Hudson, he was striking out batters with 4 pitches, fastball, curveball, slider, sinker. and all had excellent location.
Hudson will be a valuable addition to this rotation and to this clubhouse as a savvy veteran who knows how to have a long career, something I'm hoping the other young Giants pitchers can emulate.
With this signing, the Giants have 1 more rotation spot and a left fielder to go to make this offseason complete. Call Vogey maybe?
Laws of the Day
Huddy's average fastball in 2007 was 91.3 mph and in 2013 it was 89.8. A picture of consistency this guy.
He is probably the best pick out there that we could get, so that is good. However, wear-and-tear does worry me. We'll just have to see how it goes. Sounds like he's a twist between Zito and Vogey in style, but if he can be consistently above average then maybe this will work.
ReplyDeleteI think with a back of the rotation starter, consistency is key and Hudson has it and then some. You can always point to age, but I haven't seen any evidence that his age has affected him as of yet.
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