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4 former Cardinals who have performed putridly in 2024
The focus is always on former St. Louis Cardinals who have dominated with their new teams, but spare a thought for those who haven't found success in 2024.
Busch Stadium could soon end up on one of those "most haunted places in America" articles, because the list of players who depart from St. Louis and end up ravaging the St. Louis Cardinals has lengthened dramatically in recent years. From hitters such as Adolis Garcia to pitchers such as Zac Gallen, the Cardinals could be seen as some sort of warped version of King Midas, where everyone they've let go of appears to turn to gold.
Theories abound exist to attempt to explain why these players aren't able to reach their full potential with the Cardinals, from the organization's inability to convert players into major league stars, to a lack of opportunities for players to perform.
Fans might bang their heads against their desks in frustration with the moves that panned out for other teams more than they did for St. Louis, but in sports fans' proclivity to focus on the negative aspects of their teams, it's often overlooked that for all of the players who go on to have career years after discarding the birds on the bat, there are many more who never reach the heights that they did while in St. Louis.
A large number of ex-Cardinals just vanish from the map, but those who possess higher profiles and more success in the game while with the Cardinals or with other teams prior to them will often receive more chances around the league, and their declines will therefore attract more attention.
These four relatively well-known former Cardinals are not playing well in 2024 with their current teams.
Dakota Hudson
The Cardinals loved their sinkerballers over the past 20 years, but Dakota Hudson was never a strong starting pitcher during parts of five seasons in the role with the Cardinals despite fitting the team's mantra perfectly. His best year was 2019, when he finished fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. After the team let him walk in free agency after 2023, Hudson latched on with the Colorado Rockies, where he currently leads the major leagues with 10 losses and owns an unsightly 5.63 ERA.
The Rockies clearly hoped that Hudson's sinker would mitigate the homer-happy tendencies of Coors Field, but he has pitched to the highest fly ball rate in his career, at 24.1%, and allowed nine home runs. Walks have always been an issue with Hudson, and he is at the top of the National League in that dubious category, with 38 in 76.2 innings. Hudson's strikeout numbers have also cratered, as he has fanned only 4.8 batters per nine innings, which is among the lowest in the league.
After Hudson's latest outing, where he was roughed up for 11 hits and eight runs in three innings, the former first-round pick is likely hanging on by a thread in the major leagues. He's on a one-year contract, so the Rockies might send him into the abyss after 2024, if not sooner.
Randy Arozarena
The Cardinals have drawn significant ire from fans since trading Randy Arozarena to the Tampa Bay Rays for Matthew Liberatore and a few other players. Arozarena received little playing time in St. Louis, hitting .300 with a home run in 20 at-bats in 2019. Fans' vitriol over the trade is understandable, as Arozarena led the Rays through the 2020 postseason before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since the trade, Arozarena has been an above-average player for Tampa Bay overall, but he has found 2024 to be tough sledding.
Arozarena is hitting just .191 on the year, with an OPS of .660 and a 7.7% barrel percentage. Formerly elite at hitting the fastball, Arozarena has managed just a .183 average against heaters this season — a full 100-point drop from 2023. Arozarena has heated up in June, though, hitting .309 with a .974 OPS since June 1.
The Cardinals appear to have accepted that they were fleeced in the Arozarena trade, as they have mostly given up on the possibility of Liberatore emerging as a starter. However, Liberatore's improvement in the bullpen combined with Arozarena's horrid start to 2024 could make Cardinals fans feel a bit less bitter about the deal.
Jordan Montgomery
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Jordan Montgomery to a one-year $25 million deal after he played a big part in the Texas Rangers' championship berth. Before that, Montgomery pitched for the Cardinals between the 2022 and 2023 trade deadlines, netting a 3.31 ERA with St. Louis and a 2.79 ERA with Texas.
2024 has been rocky for Montgomery: He's pitched to a 5.71 ERA and struck out only 44 batters in 63 innings, which is a career-low 15.8%. He also holds an elevated walk rate of 7.9%. His fastball velocity, never elite, has decreased by 1.5 mph, from 93.4 to 91.9, and his sinker has been bombarded to the tune of a .359 batting average, compared with a .255 average in 2023.
When the Cardinals dealt Montgomery to the Rangers, they received Tekoah Roby, Thomas Saggese and John King. King has pitched impressively since arriving in St. Louis, and Roby and Saggese remain hopes for the future. Montgomery was a popular choice among Cardinals fans for the team to aggressively attempt to re-sign before 2024, but it appears now that the Cardinals might have dodged a bullet.
Andrew Knizner
Andrew Knizner was the backup catcher to Yadier Molina in Molina's final two seasons and Willson Contreras' first season with the Cardinals. Although Knizner never made a major impact with the bat in St. Louis, his increased role in 2023 with Molina out of the picture led to a career-high .241 batting average and a 91 OPS+ — more than respectable for a backup catcher.
Despite Knizner's relative success, the Cardinals decided to give Ivan Herrera the main backup job in 2024 and did not tender Knizner a contract in the offseason. Knizner signed with the Texas Rangers for one year and $1,825,000, but he has not replicated his 2023 performance in St. Louis, hitting a paltry .138 in 58 at-bats while serving as Jonah Heim's caddy. He has also allowed 16 stolen bases and has yet to throw out a runner.
Knizner is, by all accounts, a great guy and an excellent teammate, which should keep him employed in the major leagues as a backup catcher for a while. And if he can't cut the mustard behind the plate, he has pitched 3.2 career innings of scoreless baseball, so maybe he has a future there.
These four former Cardinals undoubtedly wish they could press the reset button on 2024, and they are a reminder that not everyone who leaves the Cardinals these days develops a new level to his game.
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