The Pittsburgh Pirates confirmed they signed reliever Daniel Hudson to a two-year deal on Wednesday.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan first reported the deal on Monday, noting it was worth $11 million. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal confirmed the deal, while Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports added a breakdown of the contract:
Hudson spent the past six seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, switching between the starting rotation and the bullpen.
After the deal was announced, the pitcher posted a message on his Twitter account thanking the Diamondbacks organization and its fans. The team provided its thoughts:
Last year, as Arizona's setup man for the early portion of the season, he endured a difficult stretch that saw him shuffled throughout various bullpen roles.
Following a June 21 appearance against the Toronto Blue Jays, Hudson had his ERA down to 1.55. But it ballooned to 7.22 on Aug. 2. CBSSports.com's Mike Axisa showed how damaging that stretch was for the right-hander:
Going from middle reliever to closer, Hudson lowered his ERA to 5.22 by season's end, but it was on a Diamondbacks team that was well out of contention by July.
After he picked up the win in the season finale against the San Diego Padres, Hudson showed his emotions at the thought of it being his final appearance with the Diamondbacks, via Fox Sports Arizona:
Now in a new setting, he'll have to lower his ERA if he wants to stick with the Pirates. Still, a good start to his Pittsburgh tenure could see him quickly carve out his niche and receive regular appearances moving forward.
Tony Watson posted 15 saves in 2016 after replacing Mark Melancon as the Pirates closer. Since Watson will likely be Pittsburgh's closer heading into the 2017 campaign, Hudson should prove valuable as an option in late-inning situations.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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