3 St. Louis Cardinals who could follow Mike Shildt to San Diego
By Kevin Henry
Dakota Hudson could go from St. Louis Cardinals to San Diego Padres
Much like O'Neill, some of Dakota Hudson's best days with Cardinals came when Shildt was the manager, so this, at least on the surface, seems like another potential for a change of scenery doing a player well.
Hudson is among the players who could be non-tendered by the Cardinals, with an estimated salary of $3.7 million next season after undergoing arbitration. The 29-year-old right-hander was praised early in the season, but didn't live up to the praise as 2023 went along, logging a 4.98 ERA and 5.06 FIP in 81.1 innings over 18 games (12 starts). He also bounced between Triple-A Memphis and St. Louis, finally settling in with the Cardinals in the second half of the season when St. Louis needed pitching.
Unfortunately for him, as the season went along, his ERA kept climbing, including posting a 5.85 ERA over his final six starts, allowing 39 hits in 32.1 innings.
That could well leave a sour taste in the mouths of those making the decisions in St. Louis and, with San Diego potentially needing to rebuild its rotation in 2024 with the departures of Blake Snell and others, Hudson could perhaps provide a low-risk, high-reward option.