Cardinals Have a Tough Call to Make on Hunter Dobbins

The St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly close to getting another hurler in the mix for the starting rotation.

Hunter Dobbins was acquired from the Boston Red Sox this past offseason in the Willson Contreras trade. It was known at the time that Dobbins was working his way back after tearing his ACL in 2025 during his rookie year. Dobbins had a 4.13 ERA in 13 appearances as a rookie, including 11 starts, across 61 innings pitched. Now, Dobbins is 26 years old and is down in Triple-A on a minor league rehab assignment.

Dobbins has made two appearances so far down in Triple-A, with the most recent being on Tuesday. The righty was lights-out as well. Dobbins pitched 5 1/3 innings and struck out seven batters while allowing just one earned runs. Dobbins tossed 91 pitches in the outing for Memphis.

The Cardinals' hurler is working his way back

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher prospect Grayson Tarlow (right) walks with pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

His second appearance was unsurprisingly better than his first of the season. On March 31, Dobbins pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs and struck out three batters. He only allowed three base hits in his first outing, but also walked two and hit one batter while throwing 70 pitches.

A minor league rehab assignment for a pitcher can last up to 30 days before a club either has to bring the player back up or option them down to the minors. Dobbins' rehab clock still has a few weeks left until the 30-day mark, so the Cardinals don't need to make a decision just yet.

If Dobbins can string together a few more outings like he did on Tuesday, he's going to really give St. Louis something to think about. Three of St. Louis' five starters have gotten off to hot starts in Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy and Andre Pallante. Kyle Leahy and Dustin May haven't been as fortunate. Leahy has a 5.40 ERA in two starts and May has a 15.95 ERA in two starts. Soon enough, Dobbins is going to be fully ready. Richard Fitts is also down in Triple-A and has a 1.74 ERA in two starts.

May was the club's big free agent addition this past offseason. You've got to give him a long rope to show what he can do. What about Leahy, though? How long is his leash? If by the end of April he's still struggling, arguably that would be a good time to see if either Dobbins or Fitts can give the rotation a boost. All in all, a decision is going to have to come soon with Dobbins' rehab clock ticking.