Not only did the Giants hang onto Tim Lincecum, re-signing him to two-year, $35 million, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that they’re agreed to a deal with free agent right-hander Tim Hudson. Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com says it’s a two-year, $23 million contract.
Hudson is coming back from a fractured ankle that ended his season in July, but before the injury he was having another strong season at age 37 with a 3.97 ERA and 95/36 K/BB ratio in 131 innings.
He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in 13 of his 15 seasons in the majors and has a 3.44 career ERA, including a 3.56 mark in nine years with the Braves. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Braves initially offered Hudson a one-year deal to return, but later added a second year that still fell short of the Giants’ offer.
UPDATE: Here’s an interesting little twist. Buster Olney of ESPN.com says the A’s, not the Braves, finished runner-up in the Hudson bidding. Hudson was drafted by Oakland and pitched for the A’s from 1999-2004, when he was traded to the Braves.