Adding Tim Hudson remains one of the Braves' best trades
- Date: December 16, 2004
- Trade Details: Braves acquire RHP Tim Hudson and Athletics receive OF Charles Thomas, LHP Dan Meyer, and RHP Juan Cruz
Tim Hudson remains a Braves legend to this day. After a stellar tenure with Oakland (seriously, the Athletics should be very nervous anytime Atlanta calls), the Braves traded for Hudson and he would go on to a nine season run with Atlanta. Over the course of his Braves tenure, Hudson posted a 3.56 ERA and 3.88 FIP while striking out nearly 1,000 batters over 1,573 innings of work.
This trade is a reminder that is never a good idea to try and buy high on a guy that does not have much of a track record. There were two headliners in this deal were Charles Thomas and Dan Meyer. In Thomas' case, he had a good 84 game stretch with the Braves in 2004, but didn't show much in the way of power. Oakland ended up regretting the choice as Thomas posted a dismal .343 OPS in 55 plate appearances with the team in 2005 and never played in the majors again.
As for Meyer, this is a fun part. Meyer was a highly touted pitching prospect, but he would have some shoulder troubles that kept him from returning to the majors until 2007. After parts of two rough seasons in Oakland, he would have one really strong season with the Marlins followed by a bad one that would end up being his final year in the big leagues. The fun part is that Meyer eventually returned to the Braves organization as an excellent minor league pitching coach and manager from 2015 to 2021.
With Cruz, Oakland was hoping to get the guy that posted a 2.75 ERA in 50 relief appearances, but were instead rewarded with a 7.44 ERA in Cruz's lone season with Oakland. Cruz would rebound and pitch pretty well for another seven seasons with the Diamondbacks, Royals, Rays, and Pirates.