Dodgers: Possible Bullpen Targets to Replace Daniel Hudson

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LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 29: Daniel Hudson #41 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks to the mound during the ninth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies t Dodger Stadium on May 29, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

The Dodgers bullpen started to come together in May and as the month of June begins they will look to continue their surge towards being a strength rather than the Achilles heel of the 2018 Dodgers.

Ever since the Dodgers swept their doubleheader with the Washington Nationals in mid-May, the bullpen has been creeping back toward being reliable. Kenley Jansen is back to form, Erik Goeddel has been a nice find, Scott Alexander is back on track, and the rest of the bullpen has had their moments. The exception to that has been Daniel Hudson who is now clearly the weakest link in the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Hudson enters Sunday’s game with a 5.68 ERA and despite being able to throw in the mid 90’s, he hasn’t been able to come anything close to the pitcher he once was in Arizona. In only nineteen innings, Hudson has allowed nineteen hits and walked twelve batters. While Pedro Baez continues to be the easy target for fan criticism, Hudson has been even worse than Baez. It’s time for the Dodgers to replace Daniel Hudson and here are some internal and external candidates who could take his spot and help the Dodger bullpen.

Raisel Iglesias

If the Dodgers want to aim high with their potential bullpen upgrade it would be tough to find a better reliever that may be available for trade than Raisel Iglesias. Iglesias makes 5.2 million this season and is signed for two more seasons at 5.7 million a season. This would make him a logical fit since the Dodgers can acquire him and stay under the luxury tax threshold if the Reds throw in a couple million for this season. He would also be a bargain at 5.2 million for each of the next two seasons.

This season Iglesias has been one of the few bright spots on the Reds staff boasting an impressive 1.96 ERA and an opponent’s batting average of .185. Although Raisel Iglesias is a hard thrower, he is able to command the strike zone and has 28 strikeouts and only 8 walks which is the reason is WHIP is exactly 1.00. Iglesias would not only bolster the Dodger bullpen for the next few seasons, he would also help the Dodgers save money for other acquisitions since he is on a very team friendly deal. If the Dodgers want to aim high and effectively replace the hole Brandon Morrow left in the eighth inning, Iglesias is their man.

Brad Brach

The Orioles are one of the worst teams in baseball which makes them one of the few teams that are going to be sure-fire sellers at the July non-waiver trade deadline. While the Orioles most known reliever is Zach Britton, he is currently injured and been out all season. There is a chance Britton comes back strong and becomes a possible trade target but for now, the Orioles best trade piece is Brad Brach. Brach has been a solid setup man for the Orioles since he was acquired from the Padres in 2014.

Although Brach got off to a slow start, he has been improving as the season progresses. Brach currently has a 3.43 ERA an has successfully shut the door on eight of his nine save opportunities. Brach’s opponent’s average has been higher than usual this season at .267 but with a BABIP of over .350, it’s sure to come down a bit as the season continues.

The salary situation for Brach is that he is owed 5.1 million this season before entering free agency this offseason. If the Orioles are willing to eat a little bit of money he would fit nicely into the Dodgers plans to stay under the tax threshold. Given that Brach is set to become a free agent this winter, the cost to acquire him should not be too much. Brach is one of the more realistic trade targets for the Dodgers since the Orioles don’t have many trade pieces and they want to lose him for nothing.

DENVER, CO – APRIL 09: Pitcher Craig Stammen #34 of the San Diego Padres throws in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 9, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates

The Padres always seem to bring out the best in relievers and this is once again true for two potential trade targets they have sitting in their bullpen. While Brad Hand is the best reliever they have, he would cost multiple top five prospects to acquire and since he is in the division the Padres would likely ask for the moon. The Padres have two other relievers who are on bargain deals that would be upgrades in the Dodger bullpen. Those two relievers are Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates.

Stammen is an older reliever at 34 years old but he is signed through next season at only 2.2 million a season. Yates is slightly younger at 31 years old and is under team control for two more seasons after this year. Yates makes just over one million this season so he is among the cheapest relievers the Dodgers could acquire to upgrade their pen. Stammen has been around a long time and uses his two-seam fastball to induce ground balls. Fifty-one percent of Stammen’s outs have come via the ground ball this season and he has a 9K/9IP to go along with a 1.95 ERA and a WHIP just below one.

Yates is a former Rays prospect who has found success in the Padre bullpen. This season Yates has a 1.35 ERA to go with a 0.95 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .186. It’s unlikely the Padres would ask for a ton for Yates even with two more seasons of control since his breakout is still relatively new and they likely want to sell high on him. Yates is the second possible trade target on the Padres who would fit perfectly into the Dodger bullpen.

MONTERREY, MEXICO – MAY 05: Relief pitcher Adam Liberatore #36 of Los Angeles Dodgers pitches on the seventh inning during the MLB game against the San Diego Padres at Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey on May 5, 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico. Padres defeated the Dodgers 7-4. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

Adam Liberatore, Josh Sborz, and JT Chargois

If the Dodgers want to replace Daniel Hudson with someone inside their organization they have three deserving candidates from the OKC bullpen. Liberatore and Chargois are certainly no strangers to the Dodgers and both would be upgrades on Hudson. Chargois throws hard with movement but he was unable to harness his control with the Dodgers. So far with the OKC Dodgers, he has walked only one batter in three-plus innings so it’s possibly the demotion is having the same effect on him that it did for Scott Alexander.

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Adam Liberatore is also a known commodity to the Dodgers. Liberatore helped finish off club’s combined no-hitter against the San Diego Padres and has thrived in the OKC bullpen. In Triple-A, Liberatore has posted a 0.84 ERA and allowed just one run, a solo home run, in ten plus innings of work. For the big league Dodgers this season, Adam Liberatore posted a 3.38 ERA but held opposing batters to a .214 batting average.

The one new internal candidate who could upgrade the Dodger bullpen is Josh Sborz. Sborz is a right-hander from the University of Virginia and has been in the Dodgers organization since 2015. This season Sborz has made stops at Double-A Tulsa and is now with the OKC Dodgers. Overall, Josh Sborz has posted a 3.38 ERA while limiting the opposition to a .219 batting average. Sborz has struck out 32 batters in twenty-six plus innings of work and has thrown a handful of shutout innings in spring training for the Dodgers over the past two springs.

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