Hudson sidelined as Nats surge
Injured pitcher eager to contribute as he recovers
MIAMI — The Washington Nationals are still just beginning a stretch of 20 games in 20 days before the All-Star break. Seventeen of them remain. And while the whole team will be taxed by the midseason sprint, no group will be under closer watch than a shorthanded bullpen.
Daniel Hudson shook his head when that was brought up at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Thursday. He is tired of the injured list, of not being able to help.
“It sucks,” he said, instinctively flexing the right elbow that is giving him trouble. “It sucks because I want to be out there so bad. But, obviously, there are four months left in the season. I don’t want to lose anything on the back end, so we’re trying not to push it too hard right now.”
Hudson, 34, went to the 10-day IL with elbow inflammation on June 12. Two days before, he woke up after facing the Tampa Bay Rays and could barely move his elbow. He “freaked out,” as he put it, having undergone back-to-back Tommy John surgeries earlier in his career. He tried to play catch at
Nationals Park and couldn’t throw. He had thrown 31 pitches in Tampa Bay, matching his season-high, yet felt nothing while on the mound, and the usual soreness following the Nationals’ extra-innings win.
But it was immediately clear that he had to power down. At first, the plan was to try throwing again in three to four days. Then the inflammation moved from the triceps area, near the back of his elbow, and progress was delayed. That’s why Hudson is still on the IL, almost two weeks after he went on, and not throwing off the mound. One positive development was that, on Thursday, assistant athletic trainer Greg Barajas told Hudson he could begin pushing it a bit, eyeing a return in the not-so-distant future. He threw lightly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and plans to continue that this weekend.
The Nationals have won 11 of their last 13 games, even with Hudson missing most of that span. He has a 2.59 ERA in 24 innings this season, serving as the setup man for closer Brad Hand. And while Hand is healthy, the bullpen is also without Will Harris (60-day IL with right inflammation) and Kyle Finnegan (10-day IL with a left hamstring strain).
When Hudson first went to the IL, the Nationals were 25-34, stuck in last place in the National League East, and seemed to have lost one of their top potential trade chips. But they have since revived their season, making Hudson’s return a way to sustain this push, not juice his stats in order to land a few prospects at the deadline. That could change with another month to play, but it is the current outlook.
“The MRI was relatively clean, so I felt like I dodged a bullet right away,” Hudson said. “The recovery hasn’t been as quick as we initially wanted, but I just have to be patient, as hard as that is. This team has a lot left to accomplish.”