Dodgers’ Daniel Hudson out ‘quite some time’ with right MCL sprain, per Dave Roberts

LOS ANGELES — The adrenaline had worn off so much that Daniel Hudson had a hitch to his gait, but the emotions were still raw. Just 13 months ago, the last image of him on a big league mound had been laying, crumpled in a heap with a torn ACL in his left knee that still hasn’t felt completely right ever since. He pledged that day he didn’t want that to be the last memory, that the Dodgers reliever would be back.

He got there. Wednesday night, for the first time in 392 days, Hudson recorded a major-league save, requiring a nail-biting 29 pitches to close out a 6-4 win over the Pirates.

The euphoria of the moment eroded as the adrenaline faded; Hudson, after just three appearances upon his return, suffered a sprained MCL in that right knee. He will be out for “quite some time,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday, stopping short of all but ruling Hudson out for the year.

“I just can’t put into words how frustrating, how disappointing this is for him,” Roberts said.

On Wednesday, as Hudson spoke following the save, his eyes welled up with tears and reddened. Walking through the bullpen gates was “a special feeling,” he said. He and bullpen coach Josh Bard toasted him with bourbon. Hudson’s teammates, who had clamored for his return, were ecstatic Hudson had twice undergone Tommy John surgeries and endured just about everything this sport had to offer; but this ACL rehab, at 36 years old, was as frustrating as any of them.

“We were talking about six to nine (months) but my old ass couldn’t get back in nine,” Hudson said of the 13-month recovery. “Thankfully we got there though.”

It came at a cruel cost. Hudson had twisted his right knee, the one he didn’t have surgery on, with his penultimate pitch Wednesday. He threw one more, a slider, and got Jack Suwinski to swing at it to end the night.

Roberts shook his head in amazement at Hudson’s ability to finish out the outing, and the emotion that followed. “I have no idea,” he said. “Guts, telling you man, guts.”

So the latest news of Hudson’s injury is a brutal turn in a career that has sustained plenty of potential knockout blows. It might be enough to knock a strained Dodgers bullpen to the ground; they’ve struggled enough without Hudson this year after he emerged as the Dodgers’ most valuable reliever before his injury last June.

The hope was he could have a similar impact this summer for a group that entered Thursday ranking 24th in baseball with a 4.47 ERA and already is suffering from noted absences with little reinforcements on the way. Blake Treinen is still a longshot to pitch this year, and there’s no guarantee J.P. Feyereisen will, either. Alex Reyes is already out for the year. Just Thursday, the Dodgers placed Yency Almonte on paternity leave while awaiting word on whether Brusdar Graterol will join Hudson on the injured list with discomfort in his right shoulder.

So, to recap for the Dodgers:

Up: Alex Vesia, Nick Robertson

IL: Daniel Hudson

Paternity: Yency Almonte

Pending: Brusdar Graterol, Landon Knack (if Graterol goes on IL).

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 6, 2023

The strain has gotten so dire that the Dodgers held pitching prospect Landon Knack in reserve in Los Angeles on Thursday in case they needed to get more length; the 25-year-old right-hander would’ve been the fourth Dodgers starting pitcher (and fifth pitcher overall) to debut for the club this season, with all of three starts to his name above Double A. The club even pushed Noah Syndergaard’s simulated game 24 hours on Thursday in case they need more length in the bullpen as they limp toward the All-Star break. The right-hander, who has a whopping 7.16 ERA in 12 starts this season, hasn’t pitched since going on the injured list last month for a blister and a mental reset.

The Dodgers’ pitching needs at next month’s trade deadlines have progressed past the point of simply looking for upgrades. They need as much help as they can get just to get through.

“There’s some more questions that need to be answered,” Roberts said. “I think that (this injury) adds another layer.”

Required reading

(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)