Cardinals lose 2 starting pitchers in 1 day as rotation options start to evaporate

So much for the St. Louis Cardinals keeping all of their starters healthy, huh? On the same day that Andre Pallante was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation, right-hander Hunter Dobbins was removed from his start against the Phillies due to an injury. Details regarding what the ailment was or his status are unknown at this time.

The Cardinals rotation has quietly been one of the best in baseball this season, and it has even leveled up since trading away Dustin May at the trade deadline. But St. Louis is not really in a place where they can afford to lose starters right now, let alone two to injury

On top of Pallante's injured list stint and the unknown surrounding Dobbins' status, Kyle Leahy is also running into his innings limit, and the Cardinals are expected to scale back his usage the rest of the year. So, in essence, the Cardinals may have lost threeish starters today.

And to add insult to injury (pun intended), Ixan Henderson, who has been working his way back from his own injury this season, was just shut down for the season and placed on the 60-day injured list, so there goes another potential depth starter option for the Cardinals. Things may get real dicey for St. Louis here soon.

Cardinals rotation could be in major trouble with injuries to Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante

Hopefully, Dobbins' removal from the game ends up being a precautionary move by the Cardinals, but if it is not, the Cardinals have some tough decisions to make regarding their rotation.

Down in Triple-A, the only starting pitching options currently on the Cardinals' 40-man roster are Quinn Mathews, who is already slated to replace Pallante in the rotation, Cooper Hjerpe, who probably isn't ready to give five or six innings on a consistent basis yet, and Brycen Mautz, who was moved into a relief role a little while ago.

Mautz and Hjerpe could still be options for the Cardinals rotation though, and perhaps the club will have to consider creative piggyback options to make that work. The only issue with that is it does seem like that was already something they needed to do with Leahy, so this bullpen may get wacky here soon.

Now, it is still worth noting how good a job the Cardinals have done with keeping pitchers healthy this year and in years prior. These injuries are a major bummer, but no matter what a team does, arm injuries will always be a thing they have to hedge against. It's why you can never have enough pitching, and the Cardinals have shown that by stocking up on a ton of arms lately. The only problem is that many of them are at least a year away.

How the Cardinals handle their rotation could make or break any chance they have at pushing for October down the stretch. The rotation has really carried them this year, and now they need the lineup and the bullpen to step up and help pick them up during this time.

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