Hudson, 37, was selected by Chicago in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. Then a starting pitcher, the right-hander was a fast riser to the majors who made his big league debut just one year after being drafted, in 2009. He made just nine appearances for the team that drafted him across two seasons before being shipped to the Diamondbacks in a deal for Edwin Jackson. Hudson slotted into the Diamondbacks rotation down the stretch and put on a dazzling performance for fans in Arizona, with a 1.69 ERA and 3.22 FIP in 11 starts spread across 79 2/3 innings of work.

That dominant late-season performance suggested the Snakes had landed a quality starter ready for a full season’s workload in the majors. The right-hander’s first full season with the Dbacks seemed to support that, as he posted a solid 3.49 ERA while logging 222 innings across 33 starts for the club in 2011. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse from there. Hudson’s 2012 season saw him post disastrous results through nine starts before going under the knife for Tommy John surgery that July. He’d miss the entire 2013 season while rehabbing and made it back to a big league mound only at the tail end of the 2014 season.

Hudson’s elbow troubles marked the end of his career as a starter, but his time in the majors was just getting started as he began to fashion himself into a reliever. His first season out of the bullpen in Arizona was relatively pedestrian, as the then-28-year-old pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 67 2/3 innings of work while striking out 24.5% of opponents. It was more of the same for the right-hander over the next several years, as he bounced from team to team as a solid but unspectacular middle reliever. From 2015 to 2018, Hudson suited up for Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles with rather pedestrian results. His 96 ERA+ was just below league average during that time, and he struck out 23.3% of opponents.

Things changed for Hudson in 2019, however. After latching on with the Blue Jays on a one-year deal, Hudson looked quite good for the rebuilding club in the first half of the season as he posted a solid 3.00 ERA in 48 innings of work. That solid performance was enough to draw interest from the Nationals, who at the time were in a tight race with the Phillies, Brewers, and Cubs for two NL Wild Card spots. The bullpen had been a sore spot for D.C. throughout the year, but Hudson helped to change that with a dominant late-season run that saw him post an eye-popping 1.44 ERA in 24 late-season innings for the Nationals.

That incredible work led Hudson to join closer Sean Doolittle as one of only a handful of trusted pitchers on Dave Martinez’s staff during the postseason. Hudson managed scoreless appearances in seven of his nine outings for the Nationals during that playoff run, highlighted by his save in the NL Wild Card Game against the Brewers to and his scoreless frame of work to close out Game 7 of the World Series and earn the Nats their first World Series championship in club history. After securing his first ring, Hudson remained with the Nationals for two more seasons. After a difficult 2020 campaign, he pitched well enough during the 2021 season to get traded to the Padres down the stretch, though San Diego ultimately missed the postseason.

The final act of Hudson’s career began in 2022 when he signed on to return to the Dodgers. During his second stint in Los Angeles, Hudson was nothing short of electric when on the mound, with a 2.69 ERA a 26.9% strikeout rate when healthy enough to take the mound. Staying healthy proved to be a challenge, however, as ACL and MCL injuries limited the veteran to just 27 1/3 innings of work over the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. He remained with the Dodgers on a minor league deal last winter, however, and was part of the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Now that he was finally healthy, the 37-year-old impressed with a 3.00 ERA in 63 innings of work while collecting ten saves with the Dodgers throughout the year. While a difficult outing in Game 4 of the World Series skewed his overall postseason numbers, Hudson was a generally effective relief arm for the club throughout their playoff run this year, throwing scoreless frames in five of his seven outings en route to his second career championship.

Altogether, Hudson posted a 3.74 ERA (111 ERA+) and a nearly-matching 3.76 FIP over 855 1/3 career innings during the regular season (to go with 21 postseason innings). He won 65 games and saved 43 while striking out 817 batters and appearing in 537 total contests. Those of us at MLB Trade Rumors salute Hudson on a fine career and wish him all the best in whatever comes next for the two-time World Series champion.

Despite it all, Rojas is still hoping he can heal up enough in the interim to be part of a potential World Series roster if the Dodgers can get past the Mets.  Rojas suffered the adductor injury in the last week of the regular season and was able to play in three games in the NLDS (hitting two singles in eight plate appearances) but hasn’t played since he was removed for a pinch-runner in the third inning of Game 3.

Assuming Los Angeles did advance to the Fall Classic, there’s obvious risk for the Dodgers in rostering a player who clearly won’t be at anything close to 100 percent.  Teams can make (with league approval) injury-related roster substitutions once the World Series begins, yet that wouldn’t prevent the Dodgers from finding themselves short-handed during a game if Rojas had to make another early exit.  The decision will ultimately hinge on both Rojas’ health and what the team feels a limited version of Rojas can still bring to the infield mix.  Other injuries will also be factors, like the hip flexor issue that kept Gavin Lux out of Game 2 of the NLCS.

With these health issues mounting, Enrique Hernandez has been a godsend for the lineup, as the utilityman moved into the starting lineup once Rojas went down.  Since Tommy Edman took over for Rojas at shortstop, Hernandez has become the new primary center fielder, though Hernandez has also seen action at third and second base, including a start at second base in Lux’s place in Game 2.  In addition to the defensive versatility, Hernandez has been hot at the plate, with two home runs and a 1.084 OPS in 20 PA in the Dodgers’ last five games.

Hernandez had already established a reputation for himself as a clutch postseason hitter prior to 2024, though his improved form might’ve been sparked during the summer when he started wearing glasses.  As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal notes, a conversation with Martin Maldonado in June inspired Hernandez to undergo an eye exam, which revealed an astigmatism in his right eye.  Hernandez started wearing glasses to help his vision, and after an adjustment period, he hit .274/.307/.458 slash line over his final 180 PA of the regular season.  While not standout numbers, it was still a marked improvement over the .191/.258/.299 line Hernandez posted in his first 213 PA.

In other Dodgers injury news, right-hander Daniel Hudson didn’t pitch in Game 2 due to what manager Dave Roberts revealed to media (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times) described as a “lower-body” problem.  Hudson was deemed available for Game 3 and while he wasn’t one of five pitchers used in the Dodgers’ 8-0 win, that might’ve had more to do with the increasingly lopsided score than with any lingering concerns over his injury.

With gamesmanship in full effect in the playoffs, it isn’t surprising that Roberts wasn’t specific with the nature of Hudson’s issue.  Any sort of lower-body injury is of particular concern in Hudson’s case given that he tore his ACL in June 2022, and then pitched just three innings during the 2023 season due to recovery from that ACL tear and then an MCL strain.

The good news is that Hudson returned from these injury-marred years to deliver a healthy and productive 2024 season.  Hudson allowed a ton of hard contact and benefited from a .225 BABIP, but he finished the year with a 3.00 ERA and above-average strikeout and walk rates over 63 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen.  A postseason hero for the Nationals in their 2019 World Series run, Hudson has continued his strong work in October with 3 1/3 scoreless innings so far in these playoffs.

The move is hardly a surprise, as manager Dave Roberts announced earlier this month that Hudson would be in the club’s bullpen to open the season. Hudson had the opportunity to trigger an opt-out of his minor league deal with the club yesterday if not added to the club’s 40-man roster. It’s unclear if Hudson triggered the opt-out yesterday, though it ultimately will make no difference now that the club has added the right-hander to the roster.

The 37-year-old righty is now set to participate in his fifteenth major league season and has been among the more effective relief arms in the game in recent years, pitching to a 3.08 ERA (141 ERA+) and 3.73 FIP since the start of the 2019 season. That includes a sterling 1.98 ERA with L.A. over the past two seasons, although injuries have limited him to just 27 1/3 innings of work over that time. If the veteran hurler can stay healthy this season, he’ll likely be in the mix for high-leverage innings alongside the likes of Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol, and Ryan Brasier.

Hudson being added to the roster likely spells the end of Lipcius’s time with the Dodgers just weeks after he joined the organization in a cash deal with the Tigers. The 25-year-old infielder made his big league debut in Detroit last season, slashing a respectable .286/.342/.400 in 13 games while splitting time between third base and DH. In addition to those serviceable numbers in his first cup of coffee at the big league level, Lipcius hit a solid .272/.363/.419 in 98 games with the club’s Triple-A affiliate last year while splitting time between third and second base. The Dodgers will now have seven days to attempt to pass Lipcius through waivers or work out a trade. If Lipcius clears waivers, L.A. would have the opportunity to outright Lipcius to Triple-A, where he would act as non-roster depth entering the year.

Meanwhile, Hudson will take the active roster spot of Vargas. The 24-year-old was a consensus top-40 prospect entering last season and has slashed an incredible .298/.405/.500 in 173 games at the Triple-A level in his career, but struggled badly in 81 games at the big league level last year. In 303 trips to the plate in the big leagues, Vargas hit a paltry .195/.305/.367 with a wRC+ of 85 last season. Vargas is largely blocked at the big league level with Mookie Betts having moved to the infield full time alongside Gavin Lux and Max Muncy and the club’s recent signing of Enrique Hernandez to join Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas on the club’s bench.

Hudson, who turns 37 on Saturday, signed with the Dodgers going into 2022. He and the club agreed to a one-year, $7MM deal with a club option for 2023. He was excellent for the first few months, posting a 2.22 earned run average over 25 relief appearances. He struck out 30.9% of batters faced, only gave out walks at a 5.2% clip and kept 53.4% of balls in play on the ground.

Unfortunately, he tore the ACL in his left knee in June of that year, prematurely ending his season. The Dodgers had enough faith in him that they agreed to an extension in September of that year, effectively triggering the 2023 option early and adding another option for 2024. But in the winter heading into 2023, he developed ankle tendinitis as well as patellar tendinitis in the knee. He was on the injured list until June and then made just three appearances before suffering a sprained MCL in his right knee, ending his season early yet again.

The club turned down their option on Hudson’s services for 2024 but brought him back via a minors pact, which comes with a $2MM base salary and $2MM worth of incentives. He’s been healthy enough to make four appearances already this spring and it seems the club plans to put him back on the roster at some point. The Dodgers are set to be a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax this year and are well beyond the fourth and final line of the tax. That means they are facing a 110% tax rate on any additional spending so they will effectively be paying $4.2MM to add Hudson’s salary onto their books.

Hudson is an Article XX(B) free agent, which is a player with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, any such player who signs a minor league deal more than 10 days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

Most clubs open this season on March 28 but the Dodgers start early when they play the Padres in the Seoul Series March 20. It’s unclear whether Hudson’s March 15 opt-out is the “five days before Opening Day” opt-out that he is guaranteed or if it was a contractual stipulation and he will have another chance on March 23, five days before the wider Opening Day. Regardless, he will have two other opt-out chances and it seems as though he and the Dodgers have a good relationship anyway. With Roberts’ suggestion that there’s no “hard date,” perhaps Hudson and the club have some kind of understanding whereby he won’t feel compelled to trigger his early opt-out.

Adding Hudson will make the Dodger bullpen a bit crowded to start the year. Closer Evan Phillips is out of options while veterans like Hudson, Joe Kelly, Ryan Brasier, Blake Treinen and Ryan Yarbrough can’t be optioned by virtue of having more than five years of service time. That group would account for six of the eight bullpen slots. Brusdar Graterol has options but would certainly have a spot with the big league club after posting a 1.20 ERA last year while racking up seven saves and 19 holds. Yarbrough is the only southpaw in that group and he’s a long relief guy, so the Dodgers will probably want a spot for Alex Vesia for when they need a situational lefty.

Unless Yarbrough winds up in the rotation or someone goes on the injured list, it’s possible that someone like J.P. Feyereisen gets squeezed out and optioned to the minors. The Dodgers acquired him from the Rays prior to 2023, knowing that he had undergone shoulder surgery and was facing a significant absence. He didn’t pitch at all last year but has a 2.31 ERA in his 89 2/3 innings pitched in his career.

Hudson, 37 in March, is coming off a mostly lost season in 2023. After tearing the ACL in his left knee in June of 2022, he was rehabbing over the winter but also developed some ankle tendinitis as well as patellar tendinitis in the knee. He started the season on the injured list and wasn’t activated until late June. After just three appearances, he suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee and landed back on the IL. He wasn’t able to return and then said in October that he was undecided about whether he would return for another year or hang up his cleats.

It seems he has now decided to give it another go and has returned to the Dodgers, with whom he signed going into 2022. Prior to the injury woes, he was utterly dominant. He tossed 24 1/3 innings that year with a 2.22 earned run average, 30.9% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 53.4% ground ball rate. He was so impressive that the Dodgers extended him into 2023 after his torn ACL.

That obviously didn’t pan out but it’s understandable why they would still be interested in him. In this case, they haven’t even guaranteed him a roster spot or his salary, giving them a chance to walk away if his health is an issue again in the spring. But if he’s back in form, it would be a nice low-cost boost to the bullpen. He has a 3.79 ERA in his career, having thrown almost 800 innings dating back to his 2009 debut.

The Dodgers have generally shown a willingness to give deals to injured players they like, often with incentives that allow the player greater potential earning power while keeping the club uncommitted. Alex Reyes, Blake Treinen and Jimmy Nelson are some players that have signed such deals in recent years and now Hudson will be in the mix on a similar pact for 2024.

Treinen has pitched only five Major League innings since the start of the 2022 season, as the right-hander has battled shoulder problems that required a surgery almost exactly a year ago.  Treinen was able to start a rehab assignment last August but threw only 2 1/3 innings in the minors over three appearances.

Even after two lost years for Treinen, it’s still a pretty low-cost risk for the Dodgers to exercise their $1MM option on the 35-year-old.  The size of Treinen’s option wasn’t set in stone, as the terms of his May 2022 extension with the club dictated that the club option would be worth anywhere from $1MM to $7MM based on various health-related factors.  Since Treinen ended up not pitching at all in 2023, his option ended up clocking in at the lowest possible amount.

Hudson tore his left ACL in June 2022, which ended that season and kept him on the sidelines for almost a full year.  While he returned to pitch in three games this summer, Hudson then hit the injured list again due to an MCL sprain in his right knee, and he was also bothered by ankle tendinitis.  With these injuries hampering both his career and his quality of life over the last two years, Hudson has hinted that he might bring his 14-year MLB career to a close.

Los Angeles signed Hudson to a one-year, $7MM deal going into 2022 and that relationship began beautifully, with Hudson delivering a 2.22 ERA, 30.9% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 53.4% ground ball rate over his first 25 appearances and 24 1/3 innings in Dodger blue.  However, Hudson’s season was abruptly ended by a torn left ACL in June 2022, but L.A. had enough faith in his ability to come back that the club signed him to an extension that September.  The Dodgers made the early decision to exercise their $6.5MM club option on Hudson for 2023, and another $6.5MM club option was added for the 2024 season.

Battling through some knee soreness during the recovery process, Hudson finally returned to action this past June, but pitched in only three games before suffering a sprained MCL in his right knee.  The reliever kept rehabbing in an attempt to make it back for at least part of Los Angeles’ playoff run, but that would’ve been a touch-and-go situation even if the Dodgers had advanced to the NLCS or beyond.

While it doesn’t look like L.A. will exercise that club option, the Dodgers could look to bring Hudson back on a smaller sum, perhaps a low-guarantee deal with incentives based around how many appearances Hudson is able to pitch.  Of course, that depends on whether or not Hudson (who turns 37 in March) will decide to keep pitching at all, or opt to instead hang up the cleats after his lengthy and successful career.  This isn’t the first time Hudson has floated retirement, as he said back in August that he had “been in pretty consistent pain for about 15 months” since the ACL tear.

Ardaya’s piece in general looks ahead to the many decisions the Dodgers will have to make before Opening Day 2024, including a rundown of the club’s other contract options besides Hudson.  Of note, Max Muncy’s $10MM club option for next season has now increased to $14MM, since the infielder maxed out his playing time-related bonuses by making 579 plate appearances in 2023.

Muncy battled elbow problems for much of the 2022 season, so the Dodgers signed him to a one-year contract extension in a similar vein to Hudson’s deal.  The team essentially committed early to a pre-existing club option on Muncy for 2023, giving him a slight raise to a $10.5MM salary this season and tacking on the 2024 club option with the $10MM base salary.  Up to $4MM (in increments of $250K, $500K, and $1MM) more was available based on various playing time thresholds, which Muncy pretty easily cleared.  After hitting 36 homers with an .808 OPS and 118 wRC+ this season, there isn’t any doubt Los Angeles will exercise Muncy’s option and bring him back in 2024.

Moreno has not yet received a diagnosis, but if he suffered a concussion, he could be out for at least seven days. That would come as a tough loss for the Diamondbacks, who will enter the NLDS against the Dodgers as the unmistakable underdogs. The young catcher was one of their best hitters over the second half of the season, batting .317 with a 144 wRC+ since the start of July. He carried his hot bat into the playoffs, crushing the go-ahead home run in Game 1 off Brewers ace Corbin Burnes.

In other postseason injury news…

• Max Fried threw five innings in a simulated game on Tuesday. The All-Star southpaw hasn’t pitched for the Braves since mid-September as he deals with a blister on his left index finger. Manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Mark Bowman of MLB.com) that Freid’s blister had healed “very well,” and although he wore a band-aid on Tuesday, his finger “looks good without anything on it.” Thus, it seems like he’ll be ready to start against the Phillies on Monday in Game 2 of the NLDS. If that goes well, the off days in the schedule could also allow him to pitch Game 5, if necessary.
• According to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Daniel Hudson will pitch during an intrasquad game on Thursday. The Dodgers righty only made three appearances during the regular season and has not played in a big league game since July 5, but he hasn’t ruled out an October return. He won’t be available for the NLDS, but he could pitch later in the postseason should the Dodgers advance. Over the past three years, Hudson has been an excellent reliever when healthy, pitching to a 2.85 ERA and 2.60 SIERA in 79 innings of work. Unfortunately, he has dealt with a litany of injuries since last summer, including a torn ACL, ankle tendinitis, and, most recently, an MCL sprain in his right knee.

That strong showing led the club to extend Kinley last November with a contract that guaranteed him $6.25MM over the 2023-25 seasons. Now, it seems likely that the first of those seasons, at least, will bear little fruit. In his seven trips to the mound this season, Kinley struggled badly to a 9.53 ERA with two home runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings, though that of course is a small sample size immediately following a significant layoff from big league action. With the 2023 campaign already essentially lost for the 48-75 Rockies, the club’s top priority regarding Kinley seems likely to be ensuring he’s fully healthy and ready to go for the 2024 campaign.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

• Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock exited today’s start against the Astros after just 31 pitches with a right shoulder strain, per a club announcement. While the club has not yet indicated whether Hancock will require a trip to the injured list, that seems to be the most likely outcome. After all, the 24-year-old Hancock is just three starts into his big league career and has already eclipsed his previous career-high for total innings with 110 frames of work between the majors and minors this season. If Hancock does require a trip to the shelf, the Mariners are well-equipped to weather the injury with fellow youngster Bryan Woo expected to be activated from the injured list later this week.
• Dodgers right-hander Daniel Hudson has managed just three innings of work this season thanks to first a torn ACL and then a sprained MCL, but the veteran hurler tells Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register that he’s hopeful he can return to the Dodgers in time to be part of the club’s postseason bullpen. If that comes to pass, Hudson would surely provide a boost to the relief corps in LA. While Dodgers relievers rank 10th in the majors with a solid 3.85 ERA, the club’s bullpen has also handled the third-most innings of work in the NL this year, leaving them potentially vulnerable to losing steam as the season heads toward the stretch run. While Hudson seems focused on a comeback attempt this year, the 36-year-old also acknowledged that he’s contemplating the end of his playing days, noting that he’s “been in pretty consistent pain for about 15 months.” With that being said, Hudson ultimately was noncommittal on his plans post-2023, saying, “…maybe I give it another shot. If not, I’ve had a pretty good run and it is what it is at that point.”

Miller, 28 later this month, has been with the Brewers since being claimed off waivers from the Rangers in November. He has spent this year as an up-and-down depth arm, getting frequently optioned to Triple-A and recalled as needed. He has thrown 9 1/3 innings in the majors with a 5.79 ERA in that small sample. In 25 2/3 Triple-A innings, he has a 3.86 ERA, striking out 24.5% of hitters while walking 9.1% of them and getting grounders on 45.7% of balls in play.

He’s also seen some brief time in the majors with the Cubs and Rangers in previous seasons, currently sporting a 7.92 ERA over 25 career innings. His 4.75 ERA in 225 1/3 Triple-A innings might not excite much either, but he’s struck out 25.1% of hitters at that level and the Dodgers will surely try to coax more of that out of him going forward. He is in his final option year here in 2023, allowing the club to potentially keep him in the minors for the next few months but he’ll be out of options next year. But he has less than a year of service time and won’t be able to get to that one-year mark, meaning he could stick with the Dodgers for another six seasons if he can take a step forward.

The Dodgers essentially had a roster spot to burn as Hudson suffered an MCL sprain last week that’s going to keep him out of action for significant time. This transfer means he’ll be officially ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be early September. They’ve used Hudson’s roster spot and a bit of cash to add Miller to the system for a bit more depth on a club that’s dealt with a number of injuries this year, with 12 different pitchers currently on the IL.

It remains to be seen exactly how much time Hudson will miss but it’s undeniably a brutal blow. It was just over a year ago, June 24 of 2022, that Hudson tore the ACL in his left knee, which wiped out the remainder of his 2022 season. That injury kept him on the injured list for the first few months of this year, with the righty just being activated a week ago. He made three scoreless appearances for the club in the past week but is now facing yet another significant absence.

Prior to last year’s injury, Hudson was on pace to have one of his best seasons as a reliever. He had a 2.22 ERA through 25 appearances, striking out 30.9% of batters faced while walking just 5.2% and getting grounders on 53.4% of balls in play. Despite the injury, the Dodgers showed faith that Hudson would be able to come back and contribute in the future. In September of last year, they agreed to an extension, picking up their $6.5MM club option for 2023 while tacking on a 2024 option as well.

That option comes with a $6.5MM base and can reach $7.3MM based on appearances. The exact nature of those escalators aren’t known but it seems fair to conclude he won’t trigger any of them with his limited work this year. The club will then have to decide whether or not to trigger the option, which will undoubtedly be impacted by his health status as the season winds down.

For the club, this is yet another in an extensive series of injuries to their pitching staff. The starting rotation has Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, Ryan Pepiot and Noah Syndergaard currently on the injured list, whereas the relief corps has lost Tyler Cyr, J.P. Feyereisen, Shelby Miller, Jimmy Nelson, Alex Reyes, Blake Treinen and now Hudson to the IL. Despite all those pitching injuries, the club is 48-38 and in possession of a National League Wild Card spot. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman already admitted that the rash of injuries made it more likely the club will seek out pitching reinforcements at the upcoming trade deadline and Hudson’s injury would seemingly only increase those chances.

Hudson is back in the big leagues almost a year to the day after tearing the ACL in his left knee. The veteran righty was off to an incredible start last season, posting a 2.22 ERA while striking out almost 31% of opponents in 25 outings. His year was cut short when he stumbled attempting to field a dribbler back to the mound.

The Dodgers retained Hudson in September, guaranteeing him $6.5MM while tacking on a $7.3MM club option for the 2024 campaign. There was some hope he’d be ready for the start of the season, but he was delayed by residual knee soreness in Spring Training. He made five rookie ball appearances before reporting to Oklahoma City for three outings on a rehab stint, striking out five in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Whenever he next takes the ball, he’ll be appearing in the majors for a 14th season.

Vanasco has been in the organization for a month. L.A. acquired him from the Rangers on June 1. He only made one Double-A appearance with his new club before being DFA. The 24-year-old spent the bulk of last year in High-A with Texas, posting a 4.48 ERA through 84 1/3 frames. The Dodgers will trade him or put him on waivers within the next week.

5:30pm: The Dodgers are going to select the contract of right-hander Ryan Brasier, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Corresponding moves will be required to get him onto the active and 40-man rosters.

Brasier, 35, was a late bloomer in major league terms. After a stint in Japan, he had his North American breakout in 2018 at the age of 30. He made 34 appearances for the Red Sox that year with a 1.60 ERA, striking out 23.4% of opponents against a 5.6% walk rate. He carried that over into the postseason with a 1.04 ERA in 8 2/3 frames, helping the Sox win the World Series.

However, his effectiveness slid in recent seasons and his career ERA now sits at 4.45. Things have looked especially bad recently, as he had a 5.78 ERA last year and an even worse mark of 7.29 this year. Those struggles led to him getting released by the Red Sox and signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He’s pitched three scoreless innings in Triple-A in the past week.

There are some reasons to suspect that those inflated earned run figures aren’t entirely his fault. His 56.2% strand rate and .335 batting average on balls in play last year were both on the unlucky side of league averages, leading to a 3.61 FIP and 3.12 SIERA that suggest he deserved better. It was a similar story here in 2023, with a .344 BABIP, 52.8% strand rate, 4.37 FIP and 4.58 SIERA. That being said, it’s probably oversimplifying things to simply say that he’s been unlucky. His hard hit rate, which hovered between 35 and 40% for his earlier seasons in Boston, jumped to 46.5% last year and 53% this year.

The Dodgers have faced uncharacteristic struggles on the pitching front this year as the pitching staff as a whole currently has a 4.66 ERA, a mark that places them 25th out of the 30 clubs in the league. The bullpen is an even bigger concern, with the relief corps posting a collective 5.04 ERA on the season, which puts them ahead of only the lowly Athletics in that department.

Those struggles have coincided with each of Daniel Hudson, Jimmy Nelson, Phil Bickford, Tyler Cyr, J.P. Feyereisen, Alex Reyes and Blake Treinen landing on the injured list. Some of that group could soon be available to the big league club again, as each of Hudson, Nelson and Bickford are each joining Triple-A Oklahoma City for rehab assignment, per OKC’s Broadcaster/Communications Director Alex Freeman.

But for now, the club will take a flier on a Brasier bounceback, which is essentially risk-free from a cost perspective. Since the Red Sox released him, they are still on the hook for the majority of what remains of his $2MM salary. The Dodgers will pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Sox pay.

That’s phenomenal news for San Francisco, as Cobb has been among the club’s most reliable starters this season with a 3.09 ERA and 3.24 FIP in 78 2/3 innings of work. Nonetheless, it raises the question of who the club can add to the rotation alongside Logan Webb, Alex Wood, and Anthony DeSclafani while Cobb is on the shelf. One possibility, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, is right-hander Sean Hjelle, who was scratched from his start at the Triple-A level today. Hjelle could replace left-hander Scott Alexander on the active roster for the Giants, as both Pavlovic and Baggarly note that the lefty reliever is expected to head to the injured list after leaving today’s game against the Dodgers with a hamstring issue.

More from around the NL West…

• The Padres expect to welcome right-hander Seth Lugo back into the fold on Tuesday, when he figures to start against the Giants in San Francisco. Per MLB.com, Lugo threw a 60-pitch simulated game on Thursday, which would put the righty in line for around 80 pitches on Tuesday. Manager Bob Melvin told reporters today that the injury, while not ideal, has allowed the club to manage Lugo’s innings. While Lugo had largely pitched well in eight starts, with a 4.10 ERA and a 3.94 FIP, Lugo has never thrown more than 101 1/3 innings in a season in his career and last threw more than 65 innings back in 2019. Given that reality, Lugo’s month-long stint on the injured list has potentially allowed San Diego to avoid limiting his innings later in the season.
• Dodgers fans have new clarity on the timelines of left-hander Julio Urias and right-hander Daniel Hudson, both of whom have made notable strides in their rehab processes in recent days. Manager Dave Roberts provided a specific timetable to reporters today, as noted by J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register. Per Roberts, both pitchers are poised to be activated from the injured list during the club’s upcoming three-game set in Kansas City, which will take place from June 30 to July 2. All told, Urias will have missed six weeks while dealing with a hamstring strain if everything goes according to plan from here, while Hudson will make his 2023 debut after missing more than a calendar year while rehabbing from left knee surgery.

As for Taylor, Plunkett notes that the veteran utility player underwent an MRI on his knee today that showed he had suffered a bone bruise, a diagnosis that came as a relief to the 32-year-old. Roberts expanded on Taylor’s comments, noting to reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that Taylor was dealing with “cartilage discomfort” for which he was poised to get a cortisone shot. While both Taylor and Roberts acknowledged that he’ll be out of action for a few days, the pair also expressed optimism that he would be able to avoid a stint on the injured list, though Ardaya notes that infielder Yonny Hernandez is with the team to step in should a roster move be necessary.

With Taylor and potentially Peralta out of the lineup just a day after the club put Max Muncy on the injured list with a hamstring strain, the Dodgers are facing a significant test to their position player depth. While youngster Michael Busch helps to bolster the bench and Mookie Betts is capable of playing both the middle infield or in the outfield as necessary, the club was still forced to get creative with today’s lineup, penciling DH J.D. Martinez into the starting lineup in left field. It was Martinez’s first start anywhere other than DH since 2021, as the veteran slugger hasn’t played the outfield on a regular basis since 2017.

In more positive injury news, left-hander Julio Urias appears to be progressing in his rehab of a hamstring strain, as Plunkett notes the 26-year-old threw a 40-pitch up and down bullpen session today. According to Plunkett, Urias’s next steps will be a live sim game before beginning a rehab assignment shortly thereafter. Urias’s return would be a major boost for LA, as the club lacks certainty in their rotation behind the trio of Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, and youngster Bobby Miller.

Also approaching a potential return to action is right-hander Daniel Hudson. As Roberts noted to reporters, including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Hudson is set to move his rehab process from Arizona Complex League to Triple-A in the coming week as he looks to face stronger competition en route to a return to the Dodgers’ bullpen, which Roberts believes could happen before the end of the month. A return to action for Hudson, who sports a 2.96 ERA and 2.84 FIP since the start of the 2021 campaign but hasn’t thrown a pitch in 2023 while rehabbing knee surgery, would be a major boon for the Dodgers as they look to improve a bullpen that sports an NL-worst 4.90 ERA despite a strong nucleus of Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol, and Caleb Ferguson.