Dakota Hudson of the St. Louis Cardinals will undergo Tommy John surgery on Monday, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Hudson initially went to the injured list with a forearm strain, and while the Cardinals were not overly concerned from the start, further testing heightened the possibility of surgery. Given the traditional timetable for recovery from Tommy John, Hudson figures to miss all of 2021 and possibly a portion of 2022 as well. The timing is particularly unfortunate for the 26-year-old hurler, who will now target a return as early in 2022 as possible.
Hudson has established himself as a significant part of the Cardinals rotation over the past two seasons. He finished 5th in rookie of the year voting in 2019 after going 16-7 with a 3.35 ERA/4.93 FIP across 174 2/3 innings. Wandering command held him back at times (4.4 BB/9). but he’d made strides in that regard this season (3.5 BB/9). Hudson was the game 4 starter in each of the NLDS and NLCS last season, struggling in both outings. To be fair, the defense didn’t do him any favors in either outing, as he allowed 3 unearned runs each time out.
The 6’5″ right-hander made 8 starts this season, going 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA/4.50 FIP, worth 0.6 rWAR. If the Cardinals are able to secure their spot in the postseason, they still present as a scary match-up for the 3-game set in the first round. Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright will rival any top two in the National League, full stop. Beyond those two stalwarts, lefties Austin Gomber and Kwang Hyun Kim would be options for a potential game 3. Carlos Martinez has struggled after fighting COVID-19 early in the season, and it’s looking less and less likely that he’ll be able to contribute much this season.
If the Cardinals can beat the Brewers on Sunday, they’ll be in the playoffs as the #5 seed. If they lose, however, they could be in for a long week. With only 58 games played, they would potentially have to fly to Detroit to play a doubleheader to solidify their playoff seeding. They would have to lose on Sunday, get swept in the doubleheader on Monday, and see the Giants win their Sunday game in order to finish out of the postseason entirely.
Beyond this season, the loss of Hudson might hurt even more, especially if Adam Wainwright does not return for another season. Martinez, Miles Mikolas, and John Gant will all be returning from injury-shortened 2020 seasons with a chance to make the 2021 rotation behind Flaherty and Kim. If Wainwright wants to continue playing, another season in St. Louis would certainly benefit both parties.
This is tough for my Cards. Hudson get well soon.
Tough break
that sucks
Terrible to see a young and successful go down.
Sad redbird noises.
Time to stop being cheap and pay for a starter!!
You know MO is just going to say we have the “depth” to be competitive with what we have. Especially, since it looks like we’re about to squeeze our way into the playoffs again. It would be nice to have a dominant team, but ownership knows Busch Stadium is going to sell out as long as we can just stay competitive for a top 3 spot in the Central, and they don’t think we need to add a couple $30mil a year stars to do just that.
Look at the recent results when the cards shell out money and rethink your request lol
Mo’s gonna HAVE to get a starter now with Hudson down and mikolas and Martinez being huge question marks next year. And of course he still needs to upgrade the offense. Cardinal fans have been dissatisfied with the lack of impact moves over the past few off seasons, but Mozeliak always had a fair excuse to ride with what he had. He no longer has that excuse..
I don’t think he does at all with how good both Ponce and Gomber have looked this year as well as the probable move to the rotation for Reyes. Unless they move on from Waino, they have plenty of weapons already.
I love all of those guys as depth pieces or as the 4th or 5th man. Other than waino, they are largely unproven and I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that rotation (until they prove me wrong). I really think he’s got to make a move to get a solid #2 or #3. Doesn’t have to be a huge signing or trade, maybe a charlie Morton or Dylan Bundy type. Just someone you can trust along side flaherty and Kim and then fill in from there with the arms you’ve got on hand
Padres gonna walk through the first round they lucked out they didn’t have to face reds.
What happened to Gant? I missed his injury.
Groin
I wouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch.
Its all about pitching. The Nationals won the world series with 3 great starters ond one big bat. The Cardinals have 3 strong starters and a shutdown bullpen. There are 2 bats on the Padres to work around and a questionable pitching staff. My guess is that the cardinals will be eating tacos while celebrating the victory on San Diego’s home field.
Waino resigns for 2021
Okay here’s a question and its coming from A Mets fan. Me and my friend argued about this a few days ago. Is Wainwright a future Hof , I say yes but that’s just my opinion, especially if he has another year or two decent seasons or is lights out again in the playoffs this year.
I like Waino a lot but I’d say no. Under 180’wins, No Cy Young’s. Had he not lost two whole seasons to injuries he’d be closer. Hall of very good and might make the ballot but I doubt he will make the Hall unless he pitches well for a few more season which is unlikely.
Love Waino, but he’s no HOFer. He’ll get his one year on the ballot and get inducted into the Cardinals HOF in the near future.
Answers no on HOF, just too many lost innings to injury in his prime years. He will get a red jacket for the Cards HOF though