Padres trade news: Daniel Hudson joining SD bullpen

Although the Padres are still working on a trade to bring a starting pitcher (possibly Jose Berrios) to San Diego, they got improved a bit in one position of need: relief pitching. The Padres reached an agreement to trade for the Nationals‘ Daniel Hudson late Thursday night.

Pitcher Mason Thompson and infielder Jordy Barley are expected to be the prospects headed east in the deal. They were rated No. 21 and No. 28 in the Padres system by FanGraphs in May.

The deal was first reported by FanSided’s own Robert Murray.

Hudson is in the final year of a two-year deal, being paid $6 million this season, per Cot’s Contracts.

He is currently on the COVID-19 injured list, so he will not be joining the team immediately.

Daniel Hudson will take a late-inning role after Padres trade

Hudson sports a 2.20 ERA this year with 48 strikeouts and seven walks in 33 innings. That translates to a 37.8 K% and 5.7% BB%.

He has primarily worked in a setup role this year, racking up 14 holds, most the most recent one coming in an appearance on Monday.

Four of 11 inherited runners have scored on his watch this year.

He should continue his setup role, working in front of closer Mark Melancon along with left-hander Drew Pomeranz.

Via MLB.com:

"“Obviously, we’re getting another winning piece in the back of the bullpen,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “He’s been as good as anybody, honestly, since probably 2019. He’s dominant. He’s got a lot of power to his game. He’s got a lot of experience, won a World Series. Just being able to add another winning, dynamic piece to our bullpen, I think that’s going to help us out down the stretch for sure.”"

He carries a 3.82 ERA and 3.76 FIP across 12 seasons in MLB.

Hudson joins what is a fairly decent Padres bullpen, currently the only relief squad in the majors with a combined ERA under 3.

Earlier this week, the Padres were rumored to be in on Craig Kimbrel, and they may possibly still be. The Dodgers most definitely still are, a day after making a move to acquire both Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the quickly selling Nationals.

(H/T to MLBTR)