Cardinals lose key offseason pitching addition for season in brutal injury blow

For all of the talk lately about the state of the St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation, one unknown has been lingering above the noise: How serious was Richard Fitts recent injury? Well, according to Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals will be missing their recently acquired right-hander for the rest of the 2026 season.

Talking to reporters down in Houston, Bloom shared that Fitts recently had season-ending surgery to address the lat strain that landed him on the injured list recently. While Fitts began the season in Memphis, the expectation was that he would be a part of their rotation at some point this year and had the kind of stuff that could make him a really intriguing option moving forward.

Fitts was acquired in the Sonny Gray trade back in the offseason, and his strong spring training left quite an impression on both the front office and the fanbase. He boasts a big fastball and above-average ability to get batters to chase pitches outside of the zone, but does most of his damage by inducing groundballs. Had Fitts stayed healthy, he likely would have gotten a shot soon to help the Cardinals' rotation, but now St. Louis' pitching depth is in a really rough spot.

The Cardinals rotation depth is severely dampened by the loss of Richard Fitts

The Cardinals' starting rotation has struggled to begin the 2026 season, but with Fitts no longer an option this year, it's hard to imagine them being all that aggressive with making a change to that group due to needing those options as the year goes on.

For example, there has been conversation about moving Kyle Leahy, who was converted to a starter this offseason, back to the bullpen to help with their woes, but it's hard to imagine them giving up on that experiment soon now that they are down a key arm. Outside of Hunter Dobbins, there is no clear option to turn to if another injury happens.

At some point, the hope is that Quinn Mathews could be an option, but I doubt the Cardinals want to rush him to St. Louis if pitching injuries occur. Brycen Mautz, who was the Cardinals' minor league pitcher of the year in 2025, needs more time to sharpen as well. That leaves someone like journeyman Bruce Zimmerman as the next man up behind Dobbins, which I'm sure isn't the direction they'd like to be going in.

I know there are fans who would like to see the Cardinals upgrade over some of their current starting options, but this injury likely cements the club's patience when it comes to swapping their rotation arms around this season.

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