KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals shut down Dakota Hudson for the season by transferring him to the 45-day injured list Tuesday while activating reliever Kodi Whitley and optioning Junior Fernandez to their alternate training site.

Hudson left his start last Thursday against Pittsburgh after two innings with elbow tightness, and Cardinals president John Mozeliak said an MRI exam revealed a “flexor tendon issue.” Hudson was supposed to see Cardinals medical director Dr. George A. Paletta Jr. for another exam Tuesday but that has been delayed.

The 25-year-old Hudson, who won 16 games last season, will finish 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA in eight starts this season.

Whitley is the last Cardinals player that was part of the team’s COVID-19 outbreak to return. The reason he’s been out so long has been elbow soreness. He threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in two appearances before he was sidelined.

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