Tim Hudson, recovering from Tommy John surgery, believe he can rejoin the Atlanta Braves sometime in August, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
"I feel really good about where I'm at right now," Hudson said. "I haven't thrown breaking balls, splits or changeups or anything like that. But how I feel right now, it's hard to think that it's going to take me three months to get ready to pitch in a game."
Hudson could encounter a logjam when he returns, between starters Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens, not to mention prospects Tommy Hanson, Kris Medlen and the old standby Tom Glavine.
But the real question is this: just how well would Hudson have to pitch in the season's final month for the Braves to pick up his $12MM option? Hard to imagine anything short of a Greinke would lead the Braves to do so. They have, as an alternative, a $1MM buyout.