Bad news for the St. Louis Cardinals, not only heading into the postseason, but looking ahead to next year: they’ve lost starter Dakota Hudson to Tommy John surgery.
That comes after they lost Carlos Martinez possibly for the year, and also earlier lost Miles Mikolas to surgery.
Hudson, 26, felt some forearm discomfort under two weeks ago, that was diagnosed as a strain, but the Cardinals weren’t thinking it was a UCL tear issue. After an MRI, however, they knew surgery was going to be required. He’ll get it done on Monday, and he’ll likely miss all of 2021.
Although the peripherals have always been underwhelming, Hudson has gotten great results for the Cardinals in parts of three seasons now, and was a lock to be in the rotation next year. Now, he’ll have to sit out while rehabbing, and the Cardinals will have to figure out what to do. Consider that they have Jack Flaherty, yes, but beyond that, it’s nothing but question marks: is Adam Wainwright retiring? Is Carlos Martinez permanently moving to the bullpen? Is Kwang Hyun Kim a starter or a reliever? Can Miles Mikolas return from elbow surgery? Is Johan Oviedo a legit starter?
If they’ve got the money, you can expect the Cardinals to be extremely assertive in the pitching market this offseason, I’d think. They will have so many needs.