The St. Louis Cardinals have less than a week to determine what their Opening Day roster will look like for 2023.
However, they gained a little bit more clarity on Tuesday when concerning their depth and where they want certain players.
Right-hander Dakota Hudson allowed five first-inning runs against the New York Mets on Sunday and has not quite been himself since his return from Tommy John surgery.
As a result, he will begin the 2023 season at Triple-A Memphis.
Left-hander and top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore will also join him in Memphis.
Bally Sports Midwest announced the news of the Cardinals’ latest roster cuts on Twitter.
Hudson and Liberatore will begin the season in Memphis. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/Ppo9uvLOIO
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) March 21, 2023
Hudson’s outing on Sunday was clearly not what the Cardinals or their fans were hoping for.
He emerged as a frontline starter in 2019 and was a steady rotation arm in 2020 before his injury.
He briefly returned in 2021 and pitched admirably.
However, 2022 was a different story.
The right-hander won eight games as a starter, but ultimately lost his rotation spot after posting an ERA of 4.45.
Liberatore showed flashes of his potential last season, but never quite reached that level.
Both remain options if anything happens to one of the Cardinals’ current five starters.
As of now though, it appears that they will start the season with Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, and Steven Matz.
Andre Pallante and Jake Woodford are likely to secure bullpen spots, but could very well be used as starters at various points during the 2023 season if they are needed.
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Paul DeJong Is Running Out Of Opportunities
