Hudson not happy to be heading for Charlotte

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Daniel Hudson didn't get cut by the White Sox on Tuesday. He just didn't make the 25-man roster.

"Daniel made the team," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He made the team, we just didn't have a space for him. I don't want to say, 'Go to the minor-league camp and get it done.' He made the team, we just didn't have space for him to do it."

Hudson, the White Sox' top pitching prospect, zipped his way through the system last season, going a combined 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA in stops at Class A Kannapolis, A Winston-Salem, AA Birmingham and AAA Charlotte.

The 23-year-old right-handed joined the Sox in September and held his own at 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in six games (2 starts).

Hudson is heading back to Charlotte and was upset with the decision Tuesday.

"I thought I did a pretty good job in camp this year," Hudson said. "Obviously, this is a little bit of a numbers game so what can you do?"

Hudson is going to start at Charlotte but he struggled in that role during the Cactus League, allowing 8 earned runs in 8 innings. As a reliever, he allowed just 1 earned run in 8 innings.

"I haven't relieved much in my career," Hudson said. "I really don't know what it was that made me do better relieving than starting. It was kind of weird but it gives me confidence knowing I can do that."

Even though Hudson is going back to the minor leagues, Guillen expects the Old Dominion University product to make an impact at some point.

"It's a shame when that happens, but in the meanwhile I think he grew up as a pitcher, he grew up as a person, he knows the big-league level," Guillen said. "He prepared himself very well to compete and I remember the first week of camp, (pitching coach) Don Cooper told me the best guy throwing the ball right now is Daniel Hudson.

"We all know that. But in the meanwhile I think he's better off. If we need somebody from the minor leagues, that kid will be ready."