Brewers to acquire rookie left-hander from Dodgers

The Brewers are acquiring left-hander Bryan Hudson from the Dodgers, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. The lefty was designated for assignment two weeks ago. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but that clock is paused for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s unclear what the Dodgers are receiving in exchange. Milwaukee’s 40-man roster count is up to 39.

Hudson, 27 in May, made his major league debut last year with 8 2/3 innings for the Dodgers. He allowed seven earned runs in that time, leading to an unsightly 7.27 ERA, though that’s a minuscule sample size. He spent most of the season in Triple-A, tossing 55 2/3 innings with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 35.7% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 10.8% clip and keeping 46.7% of balls in play on the ground.

Grounders have consistently been a part of his game, going back to his Rookie ball days. Those strikeouts are a fairly new development, however, having shot up in the past two years. He also struck out 29.7% of batters faced in 2022, splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A while in the Cubs organization.

The ability to both strike hitters out and keep the ball on the ground when they do make contact is enticing and appears to have caught the attention of the Brewers. Hudson still has a couple of option years remaining, so he can serve as a depth piece for the bullpen in Milwaukee. Their southpaw relief corps is currently headlined by Hoby Milner, with Ethan Small and Clayton Andrews also on the roster, though Hudson will now jump into that group as well.