Hudson dealt from A's to Braves

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ATLANTA, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Star pitcher Tim Hudson was traded Thursday from the Oakland Athletics to the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta sent pitchers Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer to the A's.

"One of our goals is to strengthen our pitching staff," said Atlanta General Manager John Schuerholz. "We have certainly made a major improvement to our club today with the addition of Tim Hudson.

"He has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last five seasons and we are excited about adding him to our rotation in 2005."

The trade came on the same day the Braves announced they had extended the contract of pitcher John Smoltz.

Hudson went 12-6 with a 3.53 ERA last season. It was the second highest ERA of Hudson's career. He was in the final year of his contract with Oakland.