As reported by Ken Rosenthal and Mark Bowman, the Atlanta Braves are closing in on a three-year contract extension with starting pitcher Tim Hudson.
A source familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday night that Tim Hudson could be just a few days away from agreeing from the three-year contract extension that the Braves have offered.
"It's getting pretty close," said this source, who added that there are just a few "small details" that need to be ironed out.
Those were the quotes from Bowman's source, and here is the quote from Rosenthal's source:
"It will be a shocker if something doesn't get finished in the next three or four days," one source said.
Here we go again... I thought this off-season would be a bit more tight-lipped for the Braves, after the embarrassing early announcements of failed deals last year, but even before the end of the World Series we're getting leaks from someone involved in these talks. Now, it could be coming from the agent, but wouldn't the Braves also ask the agent to keep things under wraps as well as instructing all of their people to so as well. Who knows if these are two different sources, they are two different sets of quotes, so we could assume that there are not one, but multiple leaks coming out of these negotiations. I love rumors as much as the next person, but come on Braves front office, spare us the embarrassment of another off-season like the ones we underwent last year.
Oh, and I'm pretty excited that Hudson will be coming back. Our pitching staff is going to be stacked... again, but let's not forget the other parts of our team which has holes that need plugging.
Let's also note the side story here, which is Ken Rosenthal's spotty record on "insider" information. Just two weeks ago, he reported that barring some huge offer, Hudson was sure to be a free agent. He had "major league sources" telling him so.