D-backs pitcher Daniel Hudson readies for comeback with open mind
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- History isn't kind to major league starting pitchers who have twice undergone Tommy John surgery.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Daniel Hudson won't overlook those statistics, but it doesn't mean he won't begin spring training with a framework of a plan and some expectations to go with it.
The 27-year-old missed more than two years of action after undergoing surgeries on his right elbow in 2012 and again in 2013, and though Hudson is preparing for spring training like a starter, he's not focused on how the D-Backs will use him.
It's about Hudson doing everything to play one inning, two, maybe three at a time when the regular season hits. If it becomes more, all the better.
For now, Hudson is feeling good and relishing something he's not tasted through two long rehabs.
"You feel like a player again, to be honest with you," Hudson said Thursday, when pitchers and catchers officially reported to Salt River Fields for spring training. "(When injured) you're just going through the motions and going to watch five innings and leave, with no chances of getting in the game. You're going to break camp on the DL. Just knowing that stuff, it's tough mentally.
"Doing it two years in a row was even worse. I'm just excited to get out there and actually go through the monotony with the guys -- and in a week we're going to be dog-cursing in the (pitcher fielding practices) and the covering first."
The worst parts of spring training don't compare to the worst parts of wondering when he can throw a baseball in a major league game again.
D-Backs Manager Chip Hale said Hudson looked strong throwing side sessions and believes that the team will find a place for him. Discussions regarding Hudson's future have been ongoing between Hale, Hudson, general manager Dave Stewart and chief baseball officer Tony La Russa. Hale stressed that Hudson will always have a say in such conversations.
"Daniel is a special guy on this team," Hale said. "We're going to do everything we can to help him be healthy all year. That's his goal, our goal, is to pitch all season. Is he a starter? We don't know. Is it as a reliever? We don't know."
The pitcher's inclusion in Arizona's deep, murky group of starting pitcher candidates to begin spring training is more about feeling things out. It's "easier to build up and go back down" if the starting group workload is too much, Hudson said.
Where Hudson and the D-Backs go from there remains a mystery.
"It's more guinea pig, guess-and-test type of thing," Hudson said. "We've thrown some ideas around. I'm going to start off on the starters routine. We'll just go for that, a couple weeks in, see how I feel and reevaluate from there."
Hudson is realistic -- he won't be able to pitch 200-plus innings this season --but he's also optimistic. Hudson made three appearances toward the end of last season to shake the rust off, and that helped him get over a mental hurdle months ahead of spring training.
"I felt good in September," he said. "You can't simulate a major league game. There was a little bit of soreness, but at the same time it was good to get that under my belt."
Asked about the battle for the starting pitching spots to begin spring training, Hale couldn't help but chuckle. As many as 14 pitchers could be realistic options to start, Hale said, but Hudson stands out because, well, he's still standing.
And once again, finally, he's throwing.
"Most of the time you say, hey, if you can't do these things we really can't have you on the club," Hale said. "He is so special, he could come in one night and throw the last three innings of a game and if Addison Reed was down and finished the game, that's the stuff (Hudson) has. It's not a perfect world and we know that, and we're going to do whatever we can do to keep him healthy."
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