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Dakota Hudson

Cardinals Non-Tender Dakota Hudson

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7:10pm: The Cardinals have announced that Hudson has been non-tendered, leaving him set to hit the open market where he’ll be able to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

4:29pm: The Cardinals are shopping right-hander Dakota Hudson “pretty hard” this afternoon ahead of today’s non-tender deadline, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Feinsand also suggests that St. Louis’s aggressiveness on Hudson could indicate the club views him as a non-tender candidate.

Hudson, 29, is projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz for $3.7MM this offseason in his penultimate trip through arbitration. The right-hander made his MLB debut back in 2018 and managed to get quality mid-rotation results through the first three seasons of his career, with a 3.17 ERA (131 ERA+) in 217 innings of work from 2018-20. That success came in spite of some shaky peripheral numbers that undercut the otherwise strong performance; Hudson struck out just 18.1% of batters faced while walking 11.6% during those years, leaving him with an unsightly 4.74 FIP in spite of an excellent 57.3% groundball rate.

Things took a turn for the worse for Hudson late in the 2020 campaign, however, when he was sidelined by Tommy John surgery. The injury would limit him to just 8 2/3 innings of work in 2021. While he returned as a regular member of the Cardinals rotation in 2022, his results had fallen back to Earth as he posted a mediocre 4.45 ERA (88 ERA+) in 139 2/3 innings of work, with a 10.1% walk rate that nearly matched his 13.1% strikeout rate. Only Zack Greinke struck out a lower percentage of batters among pitchers with at least 100 innings of work that year, while Hudson’s K-BB of just 2.9% was dead last.

While the Cardinals tendered Hudson a contract for the 2023 campaign, he was largely relegated to a depth option in the minor leagues despite the club struggling to field a viable rotation throughout much of the year. While he missed a month early in the season due to a neck issue, 11 of his 23 total starts in 2023 were made for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, with whom he struggled to a 6.00 ERA in 48 innings of work. His 4.98 ERA in 81 1/3 innings of work at the big league level, while an improvement, was still 12% worse than league average by measure of ERA+. It’s worth noting that Hudson flashed a more serviceable form when pitching out of the bullpen in the majors this year, with a walk rate below 10% and a 3.86 ERA across 16 1/3 innings of work in six multi-inning relief outings.

Though Hudson has considerable success in his past as a big league starter and showed flashes of quality out of the bullpen this year, it’s not clear whether a team would be interested in parting with much of value for the opportunity to tender him a contract this winter. After all, the Cardinals themselves are among the teams most hungry for starting pitching options in the league at the moment. That being said, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a pitching-needy club work out a trade for Hudson, as the Rockies did for righty Cal Quantrill earlier today. If Hudson finds himself non-tendered by the Cardinals this evening, he could draw interest as a low-cost depth option on a market with plenty of demand for pitching.

Cardinals Looking To Add Three Starting Pitchers This Offseason

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The Cardinals have made no secret of their need to add starting pitching. It’s self-evident, as a rotation that ranks 23rd with a 4.73 ERA has been a key factor in the Cards’ disappointing season. Deadline deals shipped out impending free agents Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, while Adam Wainwright is retiring at year’s end.

With three members of their anticipated starting five either already or soon to be out the door, St. Louis is gearing up to add multiple replacements. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said yesterday the club anticipated bringing in three starting pitchers next winter (relayed by John Denton of MLB.com).

It’s not the first time Mozeliak has expressed that goal. The baseball ops leader indicated a desire for a trio of starters last month. At the time, he left open the possibility of accomplishing some of that at the trade deadline.

The Cards indeed followed through on their goal of adding upper minors pitching. Lefty Drew Rom, who has spent the entire season in Triple-A, came back from Baltimore in the Flaherty deal. Double-A righty Tekoah Roby was arguably the most talented prospect the Cards received in the swap that sent Montgomery and Chris Stratton to Texas. Righties Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse — each of whom was acquired from the Blue Jays for Jordan Hicks — were assigned to Triple-A.

Since none of those hurlers have yet made their MLB debuts, it seems the Cards aren’t penciling any of them into next year’s starting five. Mozeliak conceded the front office overestimated their rotation depth coming into this season and it has clearly since been a priority to bolster the upper levels of the minors.

The only pitcher who looks assured of an Opening Day rotation job is Miles Mikolas. The right-hander is having another solid season, pitching to a 4.27 ERA over 26 starts. He’s not overpowering, but he’s an elite strike-thrower and has been a source of mid-rotation innings for five seasons in St. Louis.

Steven Matz looked to have turned a corner after a brief bullpen demotion. Since returning to the rotation, the southpaw worked to a 1.86 ERA while fanning over a quarter of opponents with an excellent 4.6% walk rate over seven starts. It had been Matz’s best stretch as a Cardinal — until he was diagnosed with a lat strain that could end his season. The recent strong run probably gives Matz an inside track on a rotation spot next spring, though it’s a small enough sample his hold on a job could be tenuous.

Since the deadline, St. Louis has given rotation looks to Matthew Liberatore and Dakota Hudson. Liberatore, a former top prospect, had a strong season in Triple-A but hasn’t carried it over against big league hitters. Over 45 2/3 MLB frames this year, he carries a 5.72 ERA with a well below-average 14.4% strikeout rate. Still just 23 with another minor league option remaining, Liberatore isn’t in danger of losing his roster spot. He’ll get another eight or nine starts down the stretch but hasn’t solidified his hold on a ’24 rotation job.

Hudson isn’t a lock to be on next year’s roster. The sinkerballer is playing this season on a $2.65MM arbitration salary. He’d be due a modest raise on that amount if St. Louis tenders him a contract. Hudson has a 4.31 ERA in 31 1/3 MLB innings, starting three of nine appearances. He worked out of the rotation with Triple-A Memphis, posting a 6.00 ERA with a modest 17.3% strikeout percentage.

Matz’s injury cleared a rotation job for former first-round selection Zack Thompson. The 25-year-old lefty has worked almost exclusively in relief at the big league level. His numbers in that capacity — a 2.59 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 51.3% grounder percentage through 59 2/3 career innings — are impressive. Yet Thompson struggled mightily when the Cards optioned him to work out of the Triple-A rotation. Over 34 1/3 frames with Memphis, he was tagged for an 8.65 ERA while struggling to find the strike zone.

Between Liberatore, Thompson and a few upper minors arms — Rom and Connor Thomas could have the upper hand, since they’re already on the 40-man roster — St. Louis has a number of controllable pitchers they can evaluate over the next seven weeks. It’s hard to envision anyone in that group staking a firm claim to a season-opening rotation spot, though they can at least put themselves in line for depth work that’ll inevitably arise throughout the course of the year.

Once the offseason arrives, Mozeliak and his staff will set about identifying external targets. The upcoming free agent class is pitching-heavy. Beyond Shohei Ohtani, some names on the market include Blake Snell, NPB star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Montgomery, Aaron Nola, Julio Urías, Lucas Giolito, likely Eduardo Rodriguez and Seth Lugo (who each seem set to decline player options on their deals), and Michael Lorenzen. Veterans like Marcus Stroman (who also has a player option), James Paxton and Kenta Maeda could be limited to shorter-term contracts based on their age/injury histories but are pitching well this season.

St. Louis has never topped $80MM on a free agent deal for a pitcher. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Cards set a new high-water mark in that regard next winter. Roster Resource calculates their 2024 payroll commitments around $112MM, well below this year’s Opening Day figure that landed in the $177MM range. Arbitration raises for Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, Ryan Helsley and Dylan Carlson would add another $15-20MM to that projected ledger, but that leaves a fair bit of flexibility for attacking free agency.

That’s before considering the possibility of trades to potentially clear some payroll room while bringing back rotation help. Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos and Carlson were all floated in rumors this summer. St. Louis ended up holding virtually everyone who was controllable beyond this season but could certainly reopen trade talks on those players over the winter. The outfield surplus that fueled speculation about a Carlson deal still hasn’t been resolved. He seems likely to be a popular subject of trade attention yet again.

Cardinals Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Cardinals announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Adam Wainwright and catcher Andrew Knizner on the injured list and optioned righty James Naile to Triple-A Memphis. Wainwright lands on the 15-day IL due to a shoulder strain — as manager Oli Marmol indicated last night — while Knizner heads to the 10-day IL after taking a foul ball to the groin in last night’s game. In a series of corresponding moves, St. Louis recalled catcher Ivan Herrera, righty Dakota Hudson and lefty Zack Thompson from Memphis.

Wainwright, 41, has had a disastrous start to the final season of an otherwise exceptional career. Through his first 11 starts, he’s been clobbered for a 7.66 ERA in 51 1/3 frames, with a career-worst 11% strikeout rate, a career-low 86.3 mph average fastball velocity, a career-high 1.74 HR/9 mark and a 7.5% walk rate that registers as his highest level since 2019.

Those struggles notwithstanding, Wainwright emphasized to reporters that he believes he’ll pitch again this season and that he has more left in the tank (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). However, after declaring his plan to return this season, Wainwright also candidly acknowledged that he simply isn’t healthy enough to pitch up to expectations right now.

“I’ve come back from much worse, much worse — but it is impacting my stuff,” Wainwright told the Cardinals beat (via Goold). “…There’s no denying it. Can’t hide it. I can talk myself into anything. I’ve done that a lot. I’ve made a career out of it. Right now, it’s not fair for me to put the team in that spot.”

Knizner, 28, was down for a spell after the unfortunately placed foul-tip last night but initially remained in the game. He eventually was pulled from the contest and transported to a local emergency room for further evaluation, He was eventually released last night, per Goold, and the team will likely provide an update with additional details on his status later today.

In 35 games and 115 plate appearances this year, Knizner has served as the primary backup to Willson Contreras. He’s shown some pop, already swatting a career-high five homers while turning in a career-best .191 ISO (slugging minus batting average). However, Knizner is hitting .227/.254/.418 on the whole, and he’s seen both his walk and strikeout rates (3.5% and 28.7%, respectively), careen in the wrong direction this year.

Herrera, 23, has more than earned a look in the big leagues, slashing .308/.432/.557 in 227 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. A well-regarded catching prospect, he was long expected to be Yadier Molina’s heir in St. Louis before the Cards bucked expectations and signed Contreras to a five-year contract this past offseason.

Hudson, 28, lost his rotation spot late last year and hasn’t won it back in 2023 despite considerable problems on the Cardinals’ starting staff. The sinker specialist has started 11 games in Memphis but is sitting on a 6.00 ERA through just 48 innings. His ground-ball rate is a strong 53.7%, and his 7.5% walk rate is also better than average, but Hudson’s 17.3% strikeout rate is below average. A .416 average on balls in play points to some rotten luck, but such issues are only magnified when a pitcher can’t miss bats at even an average level.

NL Notes: Harper, Hudson, Liberatore, Stephenson

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Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told members of the media, including Matt Gelb of The Athletic, that the club doesn’t plan to put Bryce Harper on the 60-day injured list for now. Harper is recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected back until July, but it seems the club will leave the door open for the possibility that he’s able to return in late May. Dombrowski didn’t say that Harper’s timeline had changed, but the club doesn’t need to open a roster spot at the moment and will at least keep their options open and put off the move until necessary.

As Gelb points out, a transfer to the 60-day IL can be backdated. Even if Harper is eventually moved there at some point during the season, he will still be eligible to be activated 60 days from Opening Day, which will be late May. It’s possible that’s how this ultimately plays out, but it seems as though the Phils think there’s at least some chance Harper can come back ahead of schedule. Whether that’s a realistic path or just wishful thinking remains to be seen.

Some other notes from the Senior Circuit…

  • The Cardinals announced today that right-hander Dakota Hudson and left-hander Matthew Liberatore have each been optioned to Triple-A. Both players have been part of the club’s rotation plans in past years, but they’re currently on the outside of the starting group, with the five spots going to Adam Wainwright, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. Hudson made 32 starts for the club in 2019 with a 3.35 ERA but hasn’t been the same since. Injuries limited him to just eight starts in 2020 and then just two appearances in 2021. Last year, he was healthy enough to make 26 starts but posted a 4.45 ERA with a 13.1% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. Liberatore was once a top 100 prospect but struggled last year, posting a 5.97 ERA in the majors and 5.17 mark in Triple-A. Both players will head to the minors to work on their performance, which could have long-term ramifications for the club. Wainwright is planning to retire after this year, while Flaherty, Mikolas and Montgomery are all impending free agents. That leaves Matz as the only pitcher currently penciled into the 2024 rotation.
  • Pirates right-hander Robert Stephenson will likely begin the season on the injured list. “We’re just running out of time,” manager Derek Shelton told reporters, including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The righty was slowed by some arm discomfort early in camp, which was initially described as a precautionary setback. However, it seems he hasn’t been able to return to health as fast as hoped. The 30-year-old has had an up-and-down career, but is coming off a strong finish to his 2022. He had a 6.04 ERA last year when the Rockies put him on waivers, but then posted a 3.38 ERA with the Pirates after they claimed him. His strikeout rate also almost doubled, going from 18.8% with Colorado to 36% with Pittsburgh. The Bucs believed in him enough to tender him a contract and pay him a $1.75MM salary to avoid arbitration, his final year before reaching free agency.

Cardinals Place Tyler O’Neill On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Cardinals announced some roster moves prior to today’s doubleheader, with right-hander Dakota Hudson coming up as the “29th man.” Additionally, outfielders Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill are swapping places, with Carlson coming off the IL and O’Neill heading onto it due to a left hamstring strain.

The injury to O’Neill is a bit ominous it was a left hamstring strain that sent him to the IL for about a month earlier this year. An injury of similar severity would keep him out of action until mid-October, but O’Neill seems optimistic that won’t be the case. John Denton of MLB.com relays word from the outfielder that it’s a Grade 1 strain, which is the lesser kind. Perhaps O’Neill can avoid a lengthy absence, though he will miss at least the next ten days. With just over two weeks remaining on the schedule, anything beyond a minimum stint will make it difficult to return during the regular season.

Of course, the Cardinals are a virtual lock to play in the playoffs, since they are 7.5 games ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central. A deep postseason run would give O’Neill more time to return to the field and get back into a groove, though the Cards will likely have to play the first round of the playoffs. This year, the top two division winners get a bye past the Wild Card round, but the Cardinals are well back of the Dodgers and 5.5 games behind the East-leading Mets.

O’Neill’s campaign got off to a rough start, though he righted the ship a bit recently. Before going on the IL in June, he was hitting just .241/.292/.361, but has hit a much better .214/.323/.423 since returning. The combined batting line amounts to a 100 wRC+, exactly league average, though O’Neill has accrued 1.2 wins above replacement thanks to his baserunning and defense, in the eyes of FanGraphs. With O’Neill out, Carlson will step into the outfield mix and try to keep the club from missing a beat. He has also spent some time on the IL this year, going on the shelf once due to a hamstring strain and then a thumb sprain. He’s hitting just a hair above league average overall, as his .240/.316/.386 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 101. Thanks to strong work in center field, he’s produced 2.3 fWAR in 112 games. He will likely get regular work up the middle, flanked by Corey Dickerson and Lars Nootbaar.

Cardinals Activate Jack Flaherty, Designate Junior Fernandez

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As expected, the Cardinals reinstated Jack Flaherty from the 60-day injured list before this afternoon’s game with the Nationals. Righty Dakota Hudson has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis to create an active roster spot, while reliever Junior Fernández was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move.

Flaherty makes his return to the Busch Stadium mound for what’ll be his first MLB appearance since July 11. The right-hander left his final start before the All-Star Break with shoulder discomfort, his second extended shoulder-related absence of the year. Flaherty’s season debut was delayed until June 15 due to bursitis, and the star hurler revealed in Spring Training he’s pitched through a labrum tear in the area for years.

It’s been the second consecutive injury-plagued season for Flaherty, who also had extended IL stints last year due to an oblique strain and shoulder troubles. He started 15 of his 17 outings last season but has been limited to three starts in 2022. The absences certainly seemed to have a deleterious effect on Flaherty’s performance earlier this year, as he was tagged for six runs in eight innings with nine walks and only six strikeouts. He averaged 92.1 MPH on his fastball, down two ticks from his 94 MPH heater of 2019-20.

With a month remaining on the regular season schedule, Flaherty will get a few chances to try to recapture that form. At his best, he’s shown ace-like potential and could be a postseason weapon. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young balloting back in 2019, when he posted a sparkling 2.75 ERA with a 29.9% strikeout rate across a career-best 196 1/3 innings.

St. Louis holds an 8 1/2 game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central, having all but officially secured control of the division with a 25-7 record dating back to the start of August. They’re still 5 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Mets for the second seed in the Senior Circuit, giving them an uphill battle if they’re to take hold of a first-round bye. If they wind up finishing in third place in the league, they’d host the final Wild Card qualifier in a three-game series. How manager Oliver Marmol deploys Flaherty in that set could well depend on the form he shows down the stretch. Adam Wainwright and deadline acquisition Jordan Montgomery have been brilliant and look like postseason starters, with Flaherty joining José Quintana and the struggling Miles Mikolas as options for a third start.

Flaherty’s return bumps Hudson from the primary five. While St. Louis announced last week that he’d pitch out of the bullpen, they’ll instead send him back to Memphis to work from the rotation there. Rob Rains of STLSportsPage tweets that the club still plans to bring Hudson back to make a start on September 17th, when the Cards will play a doubleheader against the Reds. Today’s demotion allows him to exhaust the required 10 days in the minors for optioned players, although it remains to be seen if he’ll stick with the big league club in relief from then forward or immediately head back to Triple-A.

A longtime member of the rotation, the sinkerballing Hudson has had an inconsistent 2022 campaign. He’s made 24 starts but posted a 4.43 ERA, striking out batters at a well below-average 13.5% clip. Hudson’s 52.8% ground-ball rate is still very strong, but it’s down from the 56.9% mark he posted in his best season back in 2019. He’s had a particularly rough go of things in the season’s second half, carrying a 5.52 ERA in 29 1/3 frames since the All-Star Break.

The demotion won’t have any impact on Hudson from a service time perspective, even if his return 12 days from now is a one-off recall. He’s already surpassed the four-year service threshold this season, meaning he remains on track to first reach free agency after 2024. The Cards would owe him a raise on this year’s modest $1.05MM salary if they tender him an arbitration contract after the season.

As for Fernández, he’ll now find himself on the waiver wire within the next few days. A member of the St. Louis organization since signing as an amateur free agent in 2014, he first reached the majors five years later. Fernández has bounced on and off the active roster for the past four seasons, tallying 50 2/3 innings over 47 cumulative appearances. He owns just a 5.51 ERA in that time, fanning 19% of batters faced with a very high 13.1% walk percentage.

The 6’3″ hurler has a 2.93 ERA over 13 MLB appearances this season, but that’s been paired with the more pedestrian strikeout and walk rates he’s posted throughout his career. He’s had a tougher go from a run prevention perspective in Memphis, where he’s allowed more than five earned runs per nine through 36 appearances out of the bullpen.

While Fernández hasn’t had a ton of MLB success to this point, the 25-year-0ld could generate some interest on the waiver wire. He’s averaged a blistering 98.8 MPH on his heater during his big league time this season. He’s also induced grounders on more than half the batted balls against him at both the major league and Triple-A levels. Any team that claims him off waivers could keep him in Triple-A for the rest of this season, but he’ll be out of options next year and would have to break camp with another team or again hit the waiver wire.

Katie Woo of the Athletic first reported Hudson would be optioned.

Pitching Notes: Wheeler, Pomeranz, Flaherty, Hudson

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Zack Wheeler underwent an MRI Thursday that didn’t reveal any structural damage, Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury and other reporters.  Wheeler received the testing after feeling soreness during a catch session, and while the issue seems to be just be elbow inflammation, it does present new questions about when Wheeler will be able to return to the rotation.  The right-hander was retroactively placed on the 15-day injured list on August 22, and was expected to miss two starts while recovering from forearm tendinitis.

“It’s feeling better and I’m sure if this was a playoff game, he’d say, ’Give me the ball.’  But he’s still feeling it a little bit so we’re going to wait and re-evaluate on Monday or Tuesday,” Thomson said.  The skipper said he isn’t too concerned about Wheeler’s status, but Wheeler won’t be activated from the IL on Tuesday, his first day of eligibility for reinstatement.  Wheeler is enjoying another strong season and has been a big part of the Phillies’ success, and the club naturally needs the righty back as soon as possible (health permitting) for the stretch run.

More on other pitching situations around baseball….

  • Drew Pomeranz has yet to pitch this season after undergoing flexor tendon surgery in August 2021, and his chances of a return seemingly took a hit when his rehab was shut down due to soreness two weeks ago.  However, Padres manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Pomeranz played catch on Friday and is slated to throw later this week.  After the shutdown, Pomeranz had a checkup with Dr. Neal ElAttrache but was told that some soreness is a routine part of the recovery process.  “There’s still a chance to get [Pomeranz] back here before the season is over,” Melvin said.
  • The Cardinals will activate Jack Flaherty off the 60-day IL Monday for a start against the Nationals.  Shoulder problems have limited Flaherty to only eight innings over three starts this season, marking his second consecutive injury-marred year.  With Flaherty back, Cards manager Oliver Marmol told reporters (including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that Dakota Hudson will move to the bullpen for now, and might not start again until a doubleheader against the Reds on September 17.  Despite below-average Statcast metrics almost across the board, Hudson has managed a 4.43 ERA over 126 innings, though his SIERA is a less-favorable 5.11.  It doesn’t seem like either Flaherty or Hudson are candidates for starting assignments in the postseason, though their work in September and October will give Marmol and company more to think about in determining roles on playoff rosters.

Cardinals Activate Dakota Hudson, Jack Flaherty From IL

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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.

Jack Flaherty Expected To Return Friday

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The Cardinals, surging toward a playoff berth with a prodigious September winning streak, will get another boost to their postseason hopes this weekend. Opening Day starter Jack Flaherty is expected to be activated from the injured list to start the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, manager Mike Shildt told reporters tonight (Twitter links via Katie Woo of The Athletic). Flaherty isn’t fully stretched and will be more of an opener than a traditional starter, but his return is a notable development for a Cardinals club that now finds itself with a commanding lead on the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

Flaherty missed more than two months this summer with a severe oblique strain, and his return to the club lasted just three games before he went back on the shelf with a shoulder strain on Aug. 25. He’ll be returning without a minor league rehab assignment, though Flaherty has been throwing bullpen sessions as he works back toward the big league roster. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat tweeted this past weekend that Flaherty had thrown around 30 fastballs in a recent session, and Shildt said just yesterday that Flaherty had warmed up in the ’pen before throwing 15 or so pitches to live hitters on the field (video link via Bally Sports Midwest).

It’d be a surprise to see Flaherty go more than a couple of innings, but Friday’s outing could help to build him up a bit more for a lengthier outing sometime next week. He may not be fully stretched out by the time a theoretical postseason series would start, but Flaherty would presumably be a multi-inning option in some capacity early on — with a chance to build up further should the Cardinals make a deep run on the heels of their recent momentum.

It’s been another strong year for Flaherty when he’s been healthy enough to take the mound. The 25-year-old owns a 3.08 ERA with sharp strikeout and walk rates — 26.1 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively — through 76 innings so far on the season.

In similarly encouraging news for Cards fans, Shildt revealed in tonight’s media session that Dakota Hudson was scratched from a scheduled rehab start in Triple-A Memphis in case the club needs to activate him from the injured list over the next 48 hours (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

Hudson, who owns a 3.17 ERA in 241 big league innings dating back to his 2018 debut, hasn’t pitched this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in the 2020 campaign. He was viewed as a long shot to make it back this year, but he’s now pitched 18 2/3 innings of 0.96 ERA ball across three minor league levels. Hudson pitched five innings in each of his two most recent outings and tossed 68 pitches on Sept. 17 in his lone appearance at the Triple-A level so far. Given that workload, he’d seemingly be an option to make a more conventional spot start and work on a pitch count, if needed, although he could certainly work as a multi-inning relief option as well.

Injury Notes: Rodon, Blue Jays, Slater, Gsellman, Cardinals

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The White Sox are skipping Carlos Rodon’s next turn in the rotation due to shoulder soreness, and manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including NBC Chicago’s Maddie Lee) that the team is hopeful Rodon can pitch during the upcoming September 10-12 series with the Red Sox.  That said, “when he doesn’t feel right, it’s impossible to push it,” La Russa said, noting that in the wake of Rodon’s recent injured-list stint due to shoulder fatigue, “that’s what’s concerning, that all this should add up to where right now he would be in peak form.”

Rodon missed a little over two weeks on the IL and has pitched well in two starts since returning, posting a 2.70 ERA over 10 innings.  However, the Sox were easing Rodon back into action, limiting him to 144 total pitches over the two outings.  La Russa said Jimmy Lambert would likely be called up to take Rodon’s spot in what has become an increasingly injury-riddled pitching staff — Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn are also on the 10-day injured list.

The latest on other injury situations around baseball…

  • Cavan Biggio and Ross Stripling are slated to begin rehab assignments at the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes (Twitter link).  Stripling was placed on the 10-day IL on August 11 with a left oblique strain and could be closer than Biggio to a return, as Stripling might be back when the Jays begin a series against the Orioles on Friday.  Biggio was already on a rehab assignment for a back problem when he suffered an elbow injury two weeks ago, thus setting back his progress.
  • The Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater on the seven-day concussion IL prior to tonight’s game.  Left-hander Sammy Long was also sent down to Triple-A, while righty Camilo Doval and outfielder Steven Duggar were recalled in corresponding moves.  Slater suffered his concussion while crashing into the outfield wall in Saturday’s game in an attempt to catch a Trea Turner home run.  Now in his fifth season with San Francisco, Slater is hitting .227/.313/.395 with 10 home runs over 288 plate appearances while seeing time at all three outfield positions.
  • Robert Gsellman began a rehab assignment at the Mets’ low-A affiliate today, Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets.  Gsellman has been sidelined since June 21 due to a torn lat muscle, and though he’ll need multiple rehab outings due to the long layoff, he is on pace to return to the Mets bullpen before the season is out.
  • Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told The Athletic’s Katie Woo and other reporters that Jack Flaherty will take the “huge step” of beginning to play catch within the next day or two.  Flaherty’s season seemed to be in jeopardy when he was placed on the IL on August 25 due to a shoulder strain, though there is some optimism that the right-hander may be able to return as either a reliever or as a piggyback starter.  In other Cardinals pitching news, Shildt said that Dakota Hudson will throw at least three more rehab starts as the righty continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery.  The timing will be somewhat tight, but there is some hope that Hudson can return to a big league mound this season, which would mark a tremendous recovery considering that Hudson underwent his surgery in late September 2020.
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