The Rays have had a longstanding interest in righty reliever Daniel Hudson and today they got their man. Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of the Corey Dickerson trade, Hudson is due $5.5MM in 2018.
Last year, Hudson’s first in Pittsburgh, he struggled with a 4.38 ERA and 4.34 FIP. His 24.4% strikeout rate was just under his career high of 24.5% set in 2015. The walk rate ballooned to 12.2%. In contrast, in 2015-16 after transitioning to the bullpen he had walk rates of 8.2% and 8.6%.
Since going to the bullpen full time in 2015 Hudson has thrown 189.