The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent reliever Daniel Hudson, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). A client of Jet Sports Management, Hudson would earn $1.5MM upon making the roster and can earn another $1.5MM via incentive pay.
Hudson, set to turn 32 in a month, spent the 2018 season with the Dodgers and tossed 46 innings with a 4.11 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 37.2 percent ground-ball rate along the way. A two-time Tommy John patient, Hudson’s fastball remains potent, as he’s averaged better than 95 mph in each of the past two seasons. The right-hander has a solid track record of missing bats since converting from the rotation to the ’pen and can be counted upon for roughly a strikeout per inning — albeit with a few too many walks at times (3.7 BB/9 over the past four seasons).
Hudson will compete for a spot in first-year manager Brad Ausmus’ bullpen — a collection of arms that will be anchored by offseason signee Cody Allen in the ninth inning. Among the team’s setup options are Ty Buttrey, Cam Bedrosian, Hansel Robles and Justin Anderson. Hudson stands out as the team’s most notable non-roster invitee to camp and, with a good performance in camp, could very plausibly claim a bullpen spot.