Braves Hudson May Not Be Ready By Opening Day

by gondeee on Dec 5, 2011 1:15 PM EST

First day of Winter Meetings, and while many of us expected rumors about trades, specifically about the Braves surplus of starting pitching, there is news that may indicate we won't hear any rumors. From MLB's Mark Bowman:

When Hudson underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back last week, Braves general manager Frank Wren said early reports indicated Hudson will be ready at the start of Spring Training.

But a Major League source said Monday morning that Hudson has told some close friends that he is not confident he is not sure he will be ready to be in the starting rotation at the start of the regular season.

As Bowman points out later in the article, the Braves have the depth to cover for Tim Hudson in the rotation, but subtracting one more additional pitcher from the rotation through a trade could leave the Braves suddenly thin in the starting pitching department. There are still questions about how healthy Tommy Hanson's shoulder is, not to mention the lingering questions from last year about the overall health of Jair Jurrjens.

The Braves starting pitching depth is a luxury, and one that many people have rightly suggested that they should use as trade bait to strengthen other areas of the team. Remember that the Braves starting pitching depth, while awesome, it also quite young. There may be nothing left for guys like Julio Teheran or Mike Minor to prove in the minors, but there's also no guarantee they can repeat their success in the Majors. Too many young arms in the rotation could be risky.

I can understand the Braves' caution to clear two rotation spots in one year, after the trade of Derek Lowe and a possible trade of Jurrjens. They suffered through the loss of two starters for much of the second half of last season, and could still be smarting from the starting pitching attrition that took place in 2008. Keep in mind the answer to this twitter question, "Which two pitchers started the most games for the Braves in 2008?" The answer after the jump. The Braves don't want a repeat of that.

Trivia answer: The two pitchers who started the most games for the Braves in 2008 were Jair Jurrjens (31) and Jorge Campillo (25). Campillo threw only four and third more innings in the Majors Leagues after that season.

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Well we usually suck in April anyway

/sad face

by a5ehren on Dec 5, 2011 1:17 PM EST reply actions

But it could be said equally that we missed the playoffs by losing on April 2nd last year. That loss counts just as much as the one on September 28th.

by blwfish on Dec 5, 2011 4:36 PM EST up reply actions

There goes any chance at FW trading away our pitching depth

only for a couple weeks of no tim hudson.

by another simpsons avatar on Dec 5, 2011 1:27 PM EST reply actions

Fill up the bench and play ball

We had a team capable of 95 wns in 2011 despite several bad seasons from guys. We dumpd Lowe and have Bourn for the whole season. Give Pastornicky the SS spot, sign a backup SS and be done. Look to the July trade deadline to trade a pitcher, nothing wrong with letting Jurrjens and Hanson and Hudson show they still do it.

"First!"...Who gives a damn if you are first

by bighop on Dec 5, 2011 1:27 PM EST reply actions

Figures...

going into the Winter Meetings with 8 legit SP candidates (Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Beachy, Minor, Medlen, Teheran, Vizcaino, Delgado) and worrying about whether or not 2 will be healthy enough to begin the frickin’ season. Too early to overreact but I don’t like the sound of “hesitancy”.

Just Beachy here. How 'bout you?

by ryan c on Dec 5, 2011 1:29 PM EST reply actions

Not good news. I had hoped that the Braves would be able to trade Jurrjens for a couple of great prospects during the winter meetings.

by FourScore199 on Dec 5, 2011 1:37 PM EST reply actions

This confirms it, no news is most definitely good news. Here’s to hoping that this just means Huddy will be starting the second or third game of the year.

It was a particularly small egg...thats why I asked.

by thenightstallion on Dec 5, 2011 1:41 PM EST reply actions

I don’t know that this means we don’t trade anyone. We could still sign some bargain bin pitchers like Rodrigo Lopez last year.

by drumzalicious on Dec 5, 2011 1:44 PM EST via mobile reply actions

It's never a good sign when there's a Jorge Campillo reference.

"We did a lot of good things last year, and now we've got Julio ... That does nothing but improve the offense, and we expect to do better. That's our goal, to lead the NFL in everything. Every offensive category." -Roddy White

by Beachy Keen on Dec 5, 2011 2:30 PM EST reply actions

Overreaction

As I have said all along, the prognosis is excellent following this operation, and Hudson will be ready before the end of April. I always thought the end of April was more likely than the beginning of April.

The Braves can trade Jurrjens if they can get the return they want. People will have to face the fact that JJ will almost certainly be moved within the next year. The Braves will not want to go into a contract season with a Boras client who has significant trade value. From a contractual point of view, JJ’s optimal trade value falls into the timeframe of the next neight months.

But the problem is still Hanson, not Hudson. I have little confidence that Hanson will make it through the 2012 season without a significant stint on the DL.

Even so, in the final analysis, Hudson should be healthier in 2012 than he was in 2011 because of the effectiveness of the surgery. With Hudson, Hanson, Beachy, Minor, Teheran, and Delgado, the Braves already have six starting pitchers for five spots, even if they move JJ for a nice return. By July, Gilmartin will be close to major league ready, as well.

If the Braves hang onto JJ, it will happen because they didn’t match up well with a buyer.

by Messenger on Dec 5, 2011 2:49 PM EST reply actions

I agree

If Hudson is three starts behind schedule, that’s a total non-factor, and shouldn’t have any noticeable effect on our season. It’s certainly no reason for him to feel rushed. Assuming we trade someone and nobody else gets hurt, we can still have 7 options for starting pitchers breaking camp. We could make it all the way up to April 17 needing just 4 starters. If we just need someone to make a spot start that day (Kris Medlen, come on down!), Hudson could essentially come back by April 22nd and we’d have only had to fill in for him one time. There’s no need to rush him, or to panic about our pitching depth.

Even if things hit the crapper, and we decide that Teheran isn’t ready, and Hanson needs more time, and Hudson is a bit slow, we can happily use Kris Medlen and Randall Delgado, and then plug in Todd Redmond once or twice without feeling too anxious about it. And it’s not like Hudson says he’s going to miss a whole month. He’ll probably just end up behind his throwing schedule a bit.

My buddy and I just decided that the braves would be set if we could get Matt Kemp, Jose Reyes, and Albert Pujols.

by willlinn on May 17, 2011 2:13 PM EDT

by Bronn on Dec 5, 2011 3:42 PM EST up reply actions

Or we could keep Jurrjens for a bit

delaying the clock of Teheran and Delgado some, and then when Hudson is healthy, and Jurrjens has a good start and a healthy start to the season raising his stock up some, demand a premium from a contender desperate for arms (Yankees, Red Sox, etc).

http://sportsandgrits.com/

by Mr. Sanchez on Dec 5, 2011 4:27 PM EST up reply actions