The Braves' starters have been fantastic lately so they don't really need him at the moment, but Tim Hudson is rehabbing and looking pretty good in the process. Three starts so far, 8.2 innings, nine hits, five strikeouts, two walks, and an ERA of 3.11. He's touching low 90s on the gun.
The big question is going to be whether the Braves, who have Lowe, Vazquez, Jurrjens, Kawakami and Hanson all under contract for next year, will to exercise Hudson's $12 million option for 2010. Assuming Hudson keeps progressing, it's not a terrible problem to have.
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My guess is that there's zero chance they accept the option, unless he pitches lout of his mind when he gets back. My guess is that they decline it and immediately begin talking about some guaranteed money with bonuses that get back to the $12 million. Then, they try to trade Kawakami or put him in the back of the bullpen if they don't re-sign Gonzalez or Soriano.
Word around the town and Turner Field is that Hudson's option is even being considered right now. There were whispers of trading Vazquez for a bat (dumb) before the bats woke up lately. I'm thinking we'll see Hudson working out of the pen and we might see some limiting of Hanson IP's. If the Bravos fall out of contention, I'm guessing we see Hanson shut down and Hudson plugged in.