Being home with his family during baseball season is nice, but pitcher Tim Hudson said he wouldn't have agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Braves for that alone. 'It's really convenient from the family standpoint,' he said Thursday. 'But I'm excited that I'm going to be with this organization for another three years because I think we have a chance to be really good. 'I'm excited about being able to help the organization get back to the position we used to be in, which is a championship club. To me, being part of that is more special than going through free agency and just going to the team I think has the best chance to win the World Series.' Terms were finalized this week on a three-year extension believed to be worth close to $9 million annually, but a deal isn't expected to be announced until Hudson has an MRI on his surgically repaired elbow. The 34-year-old right-hander said he might not get the MRI until after he returns from a weekend charity event that Braves free-agent first baseman Adam LaRoche is having in Fort Scott, Kan. Hudson spoke of the MRI as more a formality than anything else, and he's already undergone a thorough physical exam with a doctor approved by the insurance company that will insure his new contract. He's had no problems or setbacks since returning from a year-long rehabilitation following August 2008 ligament-transplant surgery. Hudson went 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in seven starts in September and October after coming off the disabled list. The former 20-game winner has a 148-78 record and 3.49 ERA in 11 seasons with the Braves and Oakland Athletics. David O'Brien writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 