Hudson signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Pirates on Monday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

EDGE Analysis

While Hudson's produced an ugly 5.22 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 60.1 innings with the Diamondbacks last season, the right-hander flashed the skills that suggested he could become a dominant reliever. Hudson had an average fastball velocity of nearly 96 miles per hour and struck out nearly a batter per inning last season, so if pitching coach Ray Searage can work his magic and help him improve his secondary offerings, he could show vast improvement with his numbers. For the time being, Tony Watson is the frontrunner to open the season as the Pirates' closer, but Hudson could rank as the top challenger out of the bullpen. He briefly served as the Diamondbacks' closer in the final month of the season to promising results, generating three saves and a 1.54 ERA over 11.2 innings.