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Daniel Hudson adds veteran presence to Dodgers’ bullpen

July 6, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The guys in the Dodgers’ bullpen were so anxious for Daniel Hudson to rejoin them that left-hander Caleb Ferguson said they joked about going to management and telling them Hudson could skip his rehab assignment and just do it at the big-league level with them even if it meant extra work for everyone else.

The Dodgers’ bullpen has missed Hudson’s veteran presence and voice as much as his arm, Ferguson said.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, having last year DP (David Price), Huddy,” Ferguson said. “For me, I had Huddy in ’18. He really helped me become a reliever. That’s who we bounced things off of. I’d never pitched out of the bullpen until then. I leaned on him a lot to ask him a lot of things – what a routine should look like, how do you manage this, how do you manage that?

“We’ve never had to manage everybody’s emotions the way we’ve had to now (before Hudson’s return). We’ve always had a closer or somebody in that nature of a veteran presence. There’s always been that. … I think just not being able to go to somebody and go, ‘Hey, how do we do this?’ I don’t want to say we’ve been missing it because everybody knows how to handle rough patches on their own. But as a group, we had to learn it. A veteran guy brings that already to a group.”

Evan Phillips has also noticed the absence of “veteran leadership” in this year’s bullpen group. But he said it led to a breakthrough recently when the group had some meetings

“Having those guys in the ’pen were kind of like those relaxing factors that would keep everybody’s mind at ease and reassure that everything’s going to get rolling in the right direction, even through struggles the past couple years,” Phillips said. “Not having that voice down in the ‘pen and kind of putting that pressure on our group has really forced a lot of open communication.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Hudson “another adult in the ’pen” who can preach the merits of “accountability” and going after hitters aggressively.

“He’s been battle-tested. He’s got a good heart rate. He gets lefties and righties out. He’s got the respect of everyone in the ’pen and the club,” Roberts said.

NOAH HELP

Right-hander Noah Syndergaard is expected to throw three simulated innings to hitters at Dodger Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Syndergaard has been out since June 7 ostensibly with a blister on his pitching hand. More truthfully, the right-hander was placed on the injured list as a way to wipe the slate clean and hopefully address the issues that led to his 7.16 ERA over 12 starts.

The Dodgers’ need for starting pitching has only grown more pointed in Syndergaard’s time away. The plan is for him to go out on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment after Thursday’s simulated game.

“Then the ball is in his court, to be honest, to go out there and perform,” Roberts said. “The sample that we’ve seen up to this point – whether it be related solely to performance or a combo of injury, finger blister, layered onto performance – it hasn’t been where we need it to be. Noah understands that. So I think for us, the challenge is to go out there and be the pitcher we know he can be.”

Roberts said Syndergaard’s finger has healed and he will be evaluated on his rehab assignment for performance even more so than health.

“I do think the stuff, what hitters are telling him, telling us is important,” Roberts said. “I’m sure he’s 100 percent healthy. Now he’s got to go out there and show that he can be that dependable major-league starter that we expect him to be.”

ALSO

Seedings and first-round matchups for next week’s All-Star Home Run Derby were announced by MLB on Wednesday. Mookie Betts is the third seed (based on his 23 home runs this season) and will face Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first round on Monday in Seattle. …

Right-hander Gavin Stone was optioned to the minor leagues on Wednesday after giving up one run in two innings in Tuesday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Left-hander Bryan Hudson was recalled for the second time. …