Assessing Daniel Hudson’s 2024: A Year of Growth and Setbacks

Daniel Hudson made his return to the mound on June 30 of last year after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee. In just his third game back from injury, Hudson sprained his MCL in his right knee, ending his season just after it began.

Determined to not let injuries define his career, Hudson signed back with the Dodgers on a minor league contract, hoping to get one last opportunity to have a healthy season.

Hudson made the team in spring training, which helped since relievers Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen were injured. Hudsn served a vital role within the bullpen this year, and at 37 years old was the oldest player for the Dodgers this season.

After beginning his season with a 3.60 ERA over his first 15 games, Hudson dominated over his next 16⅔ innings of work, not allowing a run while recording a 2-0 record with two saves, striking out 15 hitters and walking just two and lowering his ERA to 1.71.

The weekend prior to the All-Star break, Evan Phillips’ struggles on the mound grew more worrisome for the Dodgers, especially after a colossal meltdown in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers on July 13, leading manager Dave Roberts to opt for a closer-by-committee formula.

One of the first candidates for the new role was Hudson, who recorded saves in each of his first four opportunities in July. Near the end of month, Hudson was arguably the best reliever on the Dodgers, as in a 28 game stretch from May 8 until July 25, he pitched to a microscopic 0.33 ERA, allowing just a single earned run in 27⅓ innings of work and lowering his season ERA to 1.49. Just as it was looking like Hudson would be a primary option to have at closer, his luck began to fizzle out.

Up two runs in the eighth inning against the Astros, Hudson surrendered RBI singles to both Jeremy Peña and Jon Singleton to tie up the score, with the Astros eventually winning on a walk-off home run from Alex Bregman.

Against the Brewers on August 15, Hudson came in the eighth inning with a one-run lead. After loading the bases with still nobody out, Milwaukee struck back for three runs, leading to a 6-4 Dodgers defeat.

The month of September was arduous for the veteran right-hander, as over 9⅔ innings of work, he struggled to a 5.59 ERA with opposing hitters registering an .852 OPS. Hudson entered the month with an ERA of 2.48, but saw it rise to a mark of 3.00 by season’s end.

Throughout the first two rounds of the postseason, Hudson was lights out for the Dodgers, allowing just a single run across the NLDS and NLCS combined. After a scoreless appearance in Game 3 of the World Series, Hudson entered with a one-run Dodger lead in Game 4. After loading the bases in the bottom of the third inning, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe tattooed a grand slam to make it a three run New York lead. Hudson was able to end the inning, but unbeknownst to everyone except Hudson himself, he walked off a major league mound for the final time in his career.

2024 stats

Age: 37

Stats: 6-2, 3.00 ERA, 1.032 WHIP, 10 SV, 63 K, 19 BB, 63 IP, 129 ERA+

Salary: $2 million, plus another $1 million in bonuses for appearing in at least 60 games

Game of the year

On April 13 against the Padres, Hudson recorded a scoreless eighth inning where he struck out the side in a 5-2 Dodgers win. It was the only time that Hudson struck out more than two hitters in the 65 games he appeared in this season.

Roster status

Hudson formally announced his retirement from baseball after winning the World Series.