Cardinals: 5 players St. Louis may need to cut bait on

CINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 29: Tyler O'Neill #27 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds the bases on his home run in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 29, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 29: Tyler O'Neill #27 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds the bases on his home run in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 29, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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ST LOUIS, MO – JULY 14: Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals react after allowing a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO – JULY 14: Dakota Hudson #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals react after allowing a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

Dakota Hudson

After missing the majority of the 2021 season due to injury, the Cardinals were excited to see if Dakota Hudson could regain the momentum that he had found from 2018-2020. Hudson’s FIP always showed signs of regression, and 2022 was the culmination of that.

In 26 starts for St. Louis this past season, Hudson went 8-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 139.2 innings of work. Hudson’s hits per nine rose all the way up to 9.1 and walks per 9 to 3.9. The sheer volume of baserunners continued to get Hudson into trouble, and eventually St. Louis had to demote Hudson to AAA in hopes of him figuring things out.

Unfortunately, he did not. In what was potentially his last appearance in a Cardinals uniform, Hudson was chased after just 2.2 innings by the Pittsburgh Pirates after giving up 7 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks. Hudson’s lack of command just cannot be in a true contender’s rotation, and outside of a swingman role for St. Louis, Hudson really provides no further value.