Giants: Signing free-agent reliever Daniel Hudson makes sense

The San Francisco Giants could potentially bolster their bullpen by signing free agent Daniel Hudson. Would a deal make sense for either side?

The San Francisco Giants lost closer Will Smith to free agency, leaving a hole at the back of the bullpen.

If they decide to pursue another top of the line reliever to replace him, Daniel Hudson is now the best reliever available in free agency.  Should the Giants make a run at trying to sign him?

Now that Will Harris has signed with the Washington Nationals on a three-year, $24 million deal, Hudson is clearly the market’s top relief pitcher. On the surface, it might not make sense for a Giants team that is not expected to contend to sign him, but he could end up being a valuable addition and a future trade chip for the club.

Hudson, 32, was excellent for the Nationals last year after coming over in a midseason trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 24 regular season appearances with the Nationals, he recorded a 1.44 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 8.3 K/9 with six saves and three holds. He then logged a 3.72 ERA with four saves and one hold in nine appearances in the postseason.tyson r

Why would a guy coming off a championship want to pitch for a rebuilding team?

If he wants a guarantee that he will have a chance to close games again, he would almost certainly fill that role with the Giants.

That said, the Giants would still need to be one of the highest, if not the highest bidder, to persuade him to come to San Francisco.

Why would the Giants want him?

He would fill an immediate need and at the same time would provide the team with a valuable trade chip whom they could deal to contenders in the summer in exchange for more prospect talent.

Signing him comes with some risk, though.

The worst-case scenario for the Giants is if they sign him and he severely underperforms or gets hurt and teams are not interested in him when the trade deadline rolls around.

Then the team would be stuck with an aging reliever who they overpaid for similar to the Mark Melancon situation. But as we know, the Braves took on all of Melancon’s remaining contract in a trade this summer, so that one kind of worked out in the end.

All things considered, the Giants signing Hudson remains pretty unlikely, but if they want to take a risk on acquiring a trade chip, then a deal may make some sense for the team as they attempt to rebuild.