Cardinals Considering Unorthodox Rotation to Kick Off 2026 Season

The St. Louis Cardinals certainly don't have a lack of starting rotation options, to say the least.

St. Louis has a handful of candidates for the roles. Returning options include Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy. Leahy was in the bullpen last year but has been stretched out as a starter this spring. The Cardinals brought in Dustin May in free agency and then Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins in separate trades with the Boston Red Sox. These are the guys to watch right now. There are more options down in the minors working their way towards the big leagues, but these seven guys are the hurlers to keep an eye on.

Of the group, May, Liberatore and McGreevy seem to be the biggest locks. After them, anything could happen over the next few weeks before Opening Day. When projecting the Opening Day roster, Cardinals insider Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared an intriguing nugget that the club is "at least discussing" a six-man rotation.

The Cardinals should roll with this

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante (53) walks off the field after a pitching change against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

"Rotation (6) — LHP Matthew Liberatore, RHP Dustin May, RHP Michael McGreevy, RHP Kyle Leahy, RHP Andre Pallante, and RHP Richard Fitts," Goold wrote. "There is still time for this to sort out and distill down to five, but the Cardinals are at least discussing a six-man rotation as the spring unfolds. That could look like last year’s modified rotation that included introducing swingman Steven Matz and McGreevy into the rotation for cameo appearances. Pallante or Fitts could handle that role."

Obviously, most teams around the league utilize a five-man rotation. This idea would be a bit unorthodox in the grand scheme of Major League Baseball, but not crazy for St. Louis.

The Cardinals rolled with a similar thought in 2025. While the Cardinals may not have made noise in the standings, the organization did do a good job with their starting pitchers and specifically keeping them on a schedule that maximized them. Early on, that involved a couple of spot starts from Matz when the Cardinals lacked off days. In doing so, they were able to keep the group on schedule in general.

Doing something similar this season, at least early on, would make sense again. Arguably, if the decision is between Pallante and Fitts, it should be Pallante. He's already shown that he can have success in St. Louis in a somewhat hybrid role. In 2024, he had a 3.78 ERA in 29 total appearances, including 20 starts. In 2025, he had a 5.31 ERA while making 31 starts. The idea of technically having a six-man rotation with one of the guys getting spot starts and bullpen time makes sense.