Dodgers News: Injured Daniel Hudson’s Return Timeline Revealed by Manager Dave Roberts
The Dodgers bullpen really misses RHP Daniel Hudson this season.
Hudson, who tore his ACL a year ago in June, is still not fully back and ready to play baseball.
The Dodgers were initially expecting to have him by spring training, but one setback led to another, and now Hudson has missed the first two-plus months of the season.
Fortunately, this week, we got a new update on Hudson courtesy of manager Dave Roberts, and it definitely shows he's moving in the right direction.
"It’s still a few weeks out," Roberts said of Hudson's return, "but it was good yesterday. It was really good. For me, sooner the better, but we got to make sure that Huddy is recovering well. But his arm has never felt better and now it’s just kind of making sure that knee responds well to pitching."
Hudson will obviously help one of the league's worst bullpens on the field, but Roberts also talked about what he'll bring to the team off the field.
"He’s a presence in the pen, and not only when he’s pitching, but in the pen and how he’s having conversation with guys as they’re going well, if they’re not going well. So to not have him here has affected us."
Hopefully Hudson is able to come back in the next few weeks, as it will shore up the back-end of the Dodgers bullpen that needs the help.
The bullpen struggled mightily in the team's most recent series in Cincinnati, and is still looking to regain even some of last year's form.
Hudson will definitely be a huge piece of that, especially when the stretch run and postseason roll around. Hudson is someone who got the final out in a World Series back when he was with the Washington Nationals in 2019. The Dodgers would love to get that experience back on the mound soon.
