St. Louis Cardinals News: Tommy John Surgery for Dakota Hudson

News came on Sunday afternoon saying that St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson will have Tommy John surgery and will likely miss the entire 2021 season.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dakota Hudson will be having surgery on his right elbow, in a development that will likely lead to him missing all of next season. This comes as Hudson was having success in his second season in the starting rotation.

Before his injury, Hudson was 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA this season. Hudson, since joining the rotation, has been one of the team’s most consistent starters.

This injury could have a big impact on the St. Louis Cardinals as they plan for 2021.

To fill his rotation spot, the Cardinals will probably look at internal options. In fact, John Mozeliak has already hinted at such.

I’ll admit that seeing Matthew Liberatore joining the starting rotation would be cool. He was acquired via trade with the Rays last winter and is one of the team’s top prospects. The Cardinals have some players internally who could step in and fill that role.

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However, I would advocate that the St. Louis Cardinals look outside the organization. Upgrading the hitting has to be the main focus but this news adds uncertainty to the starting rotation, especially as Miles Mikolas comes back from injury. Adam Wainwright is a pending free agent and could choose to retire or sign elsewhere. The team could benefit from adding another starting pitcher.

As the team prepares for their regular season to wrap up, this news adds some questions to the offseason intrigue. The St. Louis Cardinals have some internal options with which they can fill Hudson’s rotation spot. They should use the offseason to take a good look at external options via trade and free agency, as well.

Regardless, the Cardinals will likely be without one of their best pitchers for 2021. We wish Dakota Hudson a quick and speedy recovery and hope to see him back to baseball activities as soon as he is able. Until then, the team has to look hard at how best to fill that rotation spot in a starting rotation that suddenly has more questions than answers.