Padres trade for RP Daniel Hudson
Reviewing the trade that actually happened for the Padres on Thursday, adding a reliable veteran relief pitcher to the team.
Yesterday afternoon, the San Diego Padres were reportedly close to landing Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer via trade. Then something happened, it’s still somewhat unsure what that was, and the Nationals starting fielding offers from other teams.
Max Scherzer and Trea Turner wake up today as Los Angeles Dodgers, which is vaguely horrifying, and the Padres are left with nothing. Or, rather, were left with nothing. They weren’t about to leave negotiations with the Nationals without any pitching help.
Trade Details
Padres get
Daniel Hudson, RP
Nationals get
Mason Thompson, RP
Jordy Barley, IF
Hudson is a veteran, having pitched for 12 seasons with 6 different teams (the Padres will be his 7th). He’s been a good, but not great, reliever since the Diamondbacks gave up on him as a starter back in 2012.
Barley is kind of a random throw-in here, probably someone that the Nationals have liked for a while and want to see if they can make him into something.
Quick Reaction
To be honest, I really liked Mason Thompson. A starter recently converted into a reliever, Thompson showed incredible stuff this season. He is a power pitcher that was getting nasty movement, and he put up a 3.00 ERA in 4 appearances with the Padres this season, but he had an ERA over 6 in El Paso.
I think the Padres don’t have enough power pitchers and thought that Thompson (AND SCHERZER) could help with that. But what they probably need more than that is proven relievers and starters to take some of the weight off the guys that have been here and appear ready to collapse.
Hudson is a proven commodity with a track record of success in the bullpen. The Padres were going to have to give up something to get him. I don’t particularly like the price (Thompson was the Padres’ #9 prospect), but I won’t call it an overpay and I can see the value of it for this team.