A’s manager hopes former Atlanta Braves pitcher can make appearance in spring 2025

Before Sunday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters he was talking with the former A’s, Atlanta Braves and Giants pitcher about San Francisco’s Tim Hudson of the possibility of showing up during next year’s spring training as a mentor for some. young pitchers while the beloved right-hander was visiting for Oldtimers Sunday.

After Joey Estes’ last start (6.1 innings, one hit, zero runs) against the Seattle Mariners, Kotsay compared Estes to Hudson in his approach. “Aggression with his fastball and offensive hitters. Huddy was that style of pitcher.” Kotsay also said you don’t want to make such a big comparison so quickly to Estes who was only 22, “but that was on my mind tonight watching him pitch.”

We asked Estes if he was familiar with Hudson’s game, both coming into the Atlanta system, or now with the A’s, and he said he had heard the name, but he’ll have to do a little more research on what worked for him. .

Kotsay appears to want to ensure that Estes and others will have the opportunity to ask Hudson questions in Mesa, Ariz., next spring.

“It’s funny, I just talked about Estes and Hudson and now here it is (Hudson) today. I had a chance to talk to him in my office. I told him I would be really happy he’s coming out and participating in spring training next year if he gets the chance to do so He’s no longer coaching college baseball, and this is the first. year he retired.

We’ll have to wait and see if Huddy has time to head to Arizona next spring, but adding a pitcher of his caliber to the staff, even for a few days, could have a huge impact on some guys as they continue to develop. .