CINCINNATI -- Nearly a year after Tommy John surgery, right-hander Dakota Hudson will continue his path back to the Majors for the Cardinals with a rehab start with Double-A Springfield on Thursday in Tulsa, Okla.

"I think we'll evaluate after that one,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said before Wednesday’s doubleheader at Great American Ball Park. “There's a plan in place, but like most plans, it can be fluid. We'll see how he throws [Thursday] and see where it goes. And there's a sentiment to build him up for a lot of reasons, to get him going and get him established for a baseline for next year. But we'll evaluate after [Thursday].”

Shildt said the hope is Hudson could get up to 70 pitches in a start before the end of 2021 as he and the team look ahead to 2022.

"He could get to 70, no question about it,” Shildt said. “He'll be at 40, 45 [Thursday]. It's exciting. It's good to have him on the way back."

The Cardinals face the Tulsa Drillers, the Dodgers' Double-A affiliate, at 7:05 p.m. CT.

This will be the first rehab appearance at Springfield for the 26-year-old Hudson, who threw two scoreless rehab innings for Low-A Palm Beach on Saturday, allowing two hits and striking out one without issuing a walk.

Hudson went 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA over eight starts in 2020, striking out 31 in 39 innings, before leaving a Sept. 17 start against the Pirates with discomfort following just two innings.

Dickson puts silver in perspective

Brandon Dickson was called up as part of September callups on Wednesday. Th2 36-year-old's journey on a return to the Cardinals is one of the most unique in franchise history. The right-hander pitched in four games for the 2011 World Series champions, but he wasn’t active on the World Series roster. Dickson was still given a ring at the end of the season. But last month, he received the chance to compete for something he says was even bigger -- his country.

Dickson won a silver medal with the United States baseball team, losing 2-0 to Japan in the gold-medal game in Tokyo.

“It was an opportunity for me to go out there and pitch and some nice people to see me,” said Dickson, who was pitching with Triple-A Memphis before Wednesday’s recall. “So I know that I could still bring a little bit to the table. So hopefully that's a way for people to see me and see that I could still help their clubs.”

And the opportunity in the Olympics?

“It was unmatched,” said Dickson, an eight-year veteran of Orix in the Japanese Pacific League. “I mean, just being able to represent your country in the world like that. It makes the competition that much more -- especially, playing against some of the guys I knew on the Japanese team. They brought their best of their best.”

While his 2011 World Series ring is in a special place in his home, the silver medal holds an even higher degree of honor in his heart.

“Well, to be honest, my World Series ring I feel like it was kind of more of a gift,” Dickson said. “I wasn't active on the World Series roster. So, for them to allow me to get that gift [was nice]. I did help the team out a little bit that year. So for them to give that to me was an honor, and I love every second of it. But to get a medal in the Olympics and it's not only for myself, it's not for my team, it’s for the whole country. I don't think there's anything that can beat that. I mean, it's like I said, it's not about me, it's the country. So that's definitely, I think, a step above.”

Martinez working toward a return in 2022

Carlos Martínez continues to rehab from a ligament tear in his right thumb. It was a short and disappointing season for the right-hander, who turns 30 on Sept. 21. Battling multiple injuries in addition to the thumb, he was 4-9 in 16 starts with a 6.23 ERA.

“He's doing something," Shildt said. "His hand is getting feel back a little, getting strength back, starting to grip the baseball, starting to play some light catch. He’s clearly not on a trajectory to come back this year, but he's on a trajectory of positive recovery.

"I know he's disappointed, we're disappointed. He has grown quite a bit in the last year and a half.”