5:03 pm: Flaherty has indeed been activated to start this evening’s game against the Cubs. Lefty Brandon Waddell was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to open active roster space.
10:24 am: The Cardinals announced Friday that right-hander Dakota Hudson has been activated from the 60-day injured list and added to the active roster as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader. The Cards already had an open 40-man spot after releasing Daniel Ponce de Leon this week. Opening Day starter Jack Flaherty is still expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list in a separate move today, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. He’s the scheduled starter for Game 2 of the twin bill.
It’s an unusually quick turnaround for Hudson, who underwent Tommy John surgery less than one year ago but has already completed a minor league rehab assignment that saw him start five games across three different levels. Hudson built up to five innings in each of his two most recent starts, tossing 57 and 68 pitches, respectively, as he continued building up arm strength. He held opponents to a 0.96 ERA through 18 2/3 frames of rehab work, albeit with a less-than-stellar 10-to-8 K/BB ratio.
Of course, some rust is to b expected given the nature of his injury and the subsequent layoff. That Hudson is able to contribute this season at all is fairly remarkable in and of itself, and his return could serve as a notable boon for a surging Cardinals club.
The 27-year-old righty has been quite effective when healthy, pitching to a 3.17 ERA through his first 241 Major League innings. Because of sub-par 20.5 percent and 9.9 percent strikeout and walk rates, fielding-independent metrics aren’t quite so bullish (4.74 FIP, 4.55 xFIP). There’s no doubting that Hudson, an extreme ground-ball pitcher (57.3 percent), has benefited from a perennially excellent Cardinals infield defense. That said, the St. Louis infield as as good as ever now that Nolan Arenado has been installed at the hot corner, and his heavy sinker ought to serve the Cards well whether Hudson is used as a starter, an opener or in some type of relief role.
A return from Hudson was never viewed as a given, but manager Mike Shildt began to plant the seeds that it was at least possible several months back. Hudson will now have the opportunity to help a scorching-hot Cardinals club that has won a dozen consecutive games — all but icing a Wild Card berth in the National League along the way. Hudson’s usage and effectiveness down the stretch could be instructive as to how he’d be deployed in a potential playoff series, should the Cards advance beyond the Wild Card round of play.
I hope he doesn’t get hurt coming back too soon, like Syndergaard, it could wait…
Welcome back.
What I wanna know is who will be the starting SS for the cardinals next year… your thoughts?…
DeJong or Sosa. Probably DeJong
I’d really like to see the cardinals capitalize on the best years they’re going to get from goldy and arenado. Not to mention one last push for yadi and waino to get a ring. I’d like to see any of the free agent star SS in a cards uniform next year. Namely seager.
Ahhh it’s about time Ripper Collins made his appearance
Dak is back!
Best Dak in professional sports.
Cardainals would be 10 back if they had the Mets injuries. Lucky team
You need a new schtick. This one is just sad now
And the Mets would be 20 back if they were healthy.
don’t feed this troll…like the cardinals didn’t have injuries…Flaherty, Mikolas, Hudson, and so on…the guy has no life and just wants attention
Lol at you thinking your injuries compare. We lost the best player in baseball. Obviously hitters are more valuable but Degrom is the best player.
Losing deGrom probably cost the Mets 4 or 5 wins at the most. Even when he was lights out, the Mets offense continually let him down. Let’s face it, the Mets just didn’t perform this year. Sure they had a lot of injuries but their healthy players and their backups had terrible seasons at the plate and this is why they are where they are in the standings. Conforto & McNeil are two of the main reasons and Lindor has been well below average when healthy as well. In a watered down NL East, the Mets still had plenty of healthy talent to compete; they just didn’t get the job done, plain and simple.
Losing deGrom didn’t even hurt the Mets, they sucked with him and they suck without him. Joke of a franchise.
Mike Trout plays on the other coast.
So Degrom is 4-5… now count games for everyone else that missed time.. do you get it now?
Your the same guy that told us the Mets would run away with the Division and the Cardinals would be lucky to beat Pittsburgh
@Metsfan
Google “Dunning-Kruger syndrome”
That’s what you suffer from.
Metsfan22 Degrom like the Padres hasn’t won a MVP award. Don’t annoint him the most valuable player. He’s won some cy young awards, but MVPs usually play in October unless they are Mike Trout and put up 12 WAR?
Dude just stop. That’d be like me saying the Cubs wouldn’t be horrible this year if they had t lost 11 straight and traded everyone.
Hadn’t*
Mets played fantasy baseball with their roster and had no depth, kinda like the 2015 Padres. Injuries happen to all teams, but coupled with underachieving offense even when healthy, the Mets were doomed to fail.
Put simply, still a poorly run organization, and I think Cohen will become the Daniel Snyder of baseball, so they’re destined for mediocrity bin perpetuity.
When Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez were trying to buy the Mets they promised $200 million dollar payrolls every year and guaranteed a championship within the first 10 years of their run. Of course you can’t guarantee a championship, ever. And spending all the money in the world doesn’t equate to winning (ask the Yankees of the last 20 years) but it sure seems a lot easier when you do it on MLB: The Show compared to real life. Cohen seems to be of the same mindset: just throw money at it til it works
The Mets horrid offense is why they are 10 games back. Even when the starters are only giving up 2 runs in a game the Mets can’t manage to score 3 to actually give them a chance. Hard to win when you are 14th in the NL and 28th overall in Runs scored.
“Luck is the residue of design.”
– John Milton
They did…
Waahhhhhhh!!!
They would be 10 back if they had the Mets underachievers even without the injuries.
The Mets officially eliminated today.
Sick of your Whiny B.S. Muted.
Good to see him back. He and Flaherty could be nice contributors in limited innings.
If the Cards can get past the WC game, having Hudson and Flaherty back in the mix could be huge. I have no idea how Shildt is going to handle the pitching against either SF or LA (assuming STL holds on, of course). The obvious/conventional answer would be to start Waino, but I think you need a quick hook.
What would be great would be if Milwaukee could lose another 10 in a row.
Two words! Happ, Lester!!! Thank you Mo.
The Brew Crew should enjoy their division title this year because with Flaherty and Hudson healthy next year the division won’t be so easily won.
I think they should’ve shut down both Flaherty and Hudson. You have won without them. Why risk injury to either one. Have them raring to go next season.
Initially I agreed with your comment. But thinking about it, if they’re ready, see what they’ve got. Cards are pretty much locked into their playoff spot, so neither pitcher will be a hindrance. And could you imagine how valuable Flaherty might be as a long reliever in the playoffs?
The #1 NL wild card winner (LA or SF) can’t be looking forward to playing a red hot Cardinals team in a one game, winner take all contest. Even if Scherzer or Gausman are the mound, St. Louis has enough quality arms and bats to put up a really good fight against either of these aces. Get your popcorn ready for this one!
With the exception of true Dodgers fans, I assume most other ‘neutral’ baseball fans are pulling for SF to win the NL West. I certainly am! LA has a fantasy baseball roster while the Giants have pieced together a team of journeymen who have played well above anyone’s expectations. How can’t you root for that?
You’re no saint.
I am not a Dodgers fan, I’d be fine with them winning the division over the Giants.
MLB certainly wants the Dodgers to win. The lack of airtime on the MLB network for the Giants is laughable. But when you have the highest payroll and lots of big names and are in one of the largest media markets in the world you lean toward the Dodgers.
I think most analysts and experts aren’t happy about the Giants because SF is making a lot of people eat their own poo. And if the Giants end up as a wild card team and lose to the Cardinals all those so called experts will be proved right and the Giants season will be called a fluke.
What happens next season will determine whether this year’s Giants team was a fluke, not a crapshoot, one game playoff.
I think it is a fluke: The Giants are for-real now, but I don’t think you can expect a bunch of previously-declining 30-something players to all have career years at the same time again.
I do believe the Giants depth pieces are legit because that’s what Farhan does: Identify no-name, versatile bench players that contribute when called upon.
Still, I think the Giants are an 85-win team in 2022, barring any major upgrades.
Giants are a balanced team. The Dodgers have become a ‘rent-a-team’.
Knowledgeable baseball fans understand this is not the case, but you believe whatever you want.
Rent-a-team? False. Stop believing in fairy tales.
The Giants have seven homegrown players on their active roster. The Dodgers have 10. If you include notable injured players, the Giants still have seven while the Dodgers have 14. Also, the Dodgers had the most homegrown players of any team in last season’s expanded playoff field. It’s even more impressive when you consider the Dodgers draft near the end of every round in every draft.
Current homegrown players please correct me if I missed someone):
GIANTS (7): Castro, Doval, Webb, Posey, Belt, Crawford, Slater.
NOTABLE INJURIES (0)
DODGERS (10): Bruihl, Buehler, Gonsolin, Jansen, Kershaw, Urias, Smith, Lux, Seager, Beaty
NOTABLE INJURIES (4): Ferguson, May, Bellinger, Rios
As for the rent-a-team nonsense: The Dodgers’ biggest trade acquisitions of Betts, Price, Scherzer and Trea Turner were acquired via trades that included top prospects developed by the Dodgers. They gave value to get value, thanks to superior drafting and player development that other teams can match. Otherwise, some other teams might have pulled the trigger.
Other key players such as Muncy, Taylor, Justin Turner, Barnes, Bickford, Graterol, and Vesia were the result of a savvy front office recognizing untapped potential and working with those players to fulfill it.
For free agents, there are Pollock, Kelly, Treinen, and Pujols, along with Knebel and the injured Nelson, who were both injured at the time.
The Dodgers built their team the right way. Shame on them for compensating their players fairly. Trying to win is apparently frowned upon by some baseball fans.
“Rent-a-team?” What do you mean by that?
I wouldn’t say it’s a fluke to have a bunch of previously-declining 30-something players to all have career years at the same time again. I’d say it’s a product of last year’s short season that we should’ve seen coming. Old guys play better when they get a year to let all those accumulated nagging injuries fully heal.
True Dodgers fan here. No, I don’t want to deal with the Cardinals in a one-game playoff. Still, there’s two ways to look at this: The Cards remain hot for another 10 games or so. Or, the streak ends and they go cold, as often happens (see this year’s Yankees).
I don’t think the Dodgers are going to win the division, so I hope the latter happens with Cardinals.
No one wanted to play the Blue Jays a week ago either. Things in baseball can change in a hurry and without warning.
Nobody wants to play the Cardinals and that Devil Magic they have. Scary, when they get hot and stir that stuff up and just start winning…
In fairness to Hudson’s “less than stellar” K-BB rate, it should be that he’s always had a high walk/low strikeout rate as a sinkerballer.
Curious who gets cut from the 40 man and major league roster to make room for Flaherty. Andrew Miller has all but disappeared and clearly Brandon Waddell is the most vulnerable otherwise.
Sometimes, it’s not the best team that wins, but the hottest team. The Cardinals are breathing fire. It’d be much easier to win your own division, than face StL.
Too soon for Flaherty. He needs a rehab start or two. Hudson has had 6 or 7 rehab starts. He is ready.