Cardinals Have Tricky Starting Rotation Decision Coming

The St. Louis Cardinals had a to make a difficult decision in the starting rotation before the 2026 Major League Baseball season began.

St. Louis had six hurlers fighting for five spots in the rotation. The Cardinals ended up rolling with Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy, Dustin May and Andre Pallante as the group of five with Richard Fitts going down to the minors. Liberatore, McGreevy and Pallante have been great to begin the season. Leahy and May, not as much.

Fitts is down in the minors and there will be another option soon enough for St. Louis to consider as well. Hunter Dobbins made his first minor league appearance of the season on his minor league rehab assignment on March 31 for Triple-A Memphis. Dobbins pitched five innings and struck out three while allowing three earned runs as well.

The Cardinals will have more to think about soon

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

With Dobbins' rehab assignment officially beginning, the 30-day clock has begun before the Cardinals will have to either bring him back up to the big league roster or officially option him to Triple-A.

The fact that he was able to go five innings right away in his first official appearance of the season is a major positive. It shows that while he didn't make a big league appearance throughout Spring Training, he isn't very far behind. His rookie season was cut short in 2025 as a member of the Boston Red Sox as he tore his ACL. Before that, he was great. He had a 4.13 ERA in 13 total appearances, including 11 starts. If the Cardinals can get that type of production out of him in 2026, he'll certainly be in consideration for one of the spots in the back of the rotation at some point.

The coundown clock has begun on his rehab assignment. As of right now, the most likely option would seem to be getting officially optioned to Triple-A at the end of the 30-day countdown. But, if an injury pops up, maybe that changes. Regardless, the Cardinals are going to have even more to think about down in the minors when it comes to the starting rotation in the very near future. It's a good question to have. The Cardinals didn't have enough pitching over the last few years. Right now, St. Louis is in a position to have depth down in the minors to cover itself as injuries pop up, or if guys eventually get traded.