The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Apr. 21 that they are facing a decision regarding their starting rotation as right-hander Hunter Dobbins approaches the end of his rehab assignment.
This development comes after an offseason in which the Cardinals traded away several core players, including Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Nolan Arenado. Despite these departures, the team has managed to remain competitive early in the season.
Dobbins was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the Contreras trade and has been recovering from ACL surgery he underwent last August. During his rehab stints with Triple-A Memphis, Dobbins has posted a 3.86 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings. His performance prior to injury included a 4.13 ERA across 13 appearances for Boston—numbers that compare favorably to current Cardinals starters.
The Cardinals’ rotation has struggled through its first 22 games this season, ranking near the bottom of Major League Baseball with a collective ERA of 4.47 and placing added pressure on a bullpen that holds a higher ERA of 5.36. The club is considering implementing a six-man rotation during an upcoming stretch of consecutive games to provide opportunities for both existing starters and Dobbins.
Further complicating matters is the recent loss of Richard Fitts—another pitcher acquired from Boston—to season-ending surgery for a right lat strain, leaving little Major League-ready depth at Triple-A Memphis beyond Dobbins.
As other starters like Dustin May, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, and Michael McGreevy have shown improvement or consistency recently, management faces tough choices about who will occupy spots in the starting rotation moving forward.
