Right-hander Star of the St. Louis Cardinals will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a lat strain, an injury that had already placed him on the minor league injured list. The update was shared by Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom in a conversation with Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
This setback is particularly disappointing for Fitts on multiple levels. Over the past two seasons, he made 15 appearances in the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox before being traded to St. Louis in the deal that brought Sonny Gray to Boston. While moving from a contending team to a rebuilding organization can be seen as a step back, it also presented Fitts with a valuable opportunity. With the Cardinals focusing on development, he had a clearer path to earning consistent innings at the major league level in 2026. Unfortunately, that opportunity is now on hold due to his injury.
Adding to the frustration is the timing of the injury. Fitts began the season competing for a spot in the Cardinals’ starting rotation but was optioned to the minors in mid-March. Instead, the team opened the year with a rotation consisting of Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, and Andre Pallante. Fitts made three starts at the Triple-A level before the injury occurred, cutting short any chance he had to quickly work his way back into consideration for a call-up.
Because the injury happened while he was in the minors, Fitts is not currently receiving major league salary or accruing service time. The Cardinals do have the option to promote him and place him on the 60-day injured list, which would free up a spot on the 40-man roster. However, doing so would also require the team to pay him at the major league rate and resume his service time accumulation. Entering 2026, Fitts had 164 days of service time—just eight days shy of reaching a full year—making that decision a notable consideration for the organization.
From the Cardinals’ perspective, the loss of Fitts slightly weakens their pitching depth. While the team is in a rebuilding phase and not under immediate pressure to contend, part of the rebuilding process involves evaluating young or unproven talent at the highest level. Fitts was viewed as one of several potential contributors who could factor into the team’s long-term plans, and his absence removes one of those developmental opportunities.
For now, the Cardinals’ current rotation remains healthy, allowing them to continue with their existing group. Additional depth options are gradually becoming available. Hunter Dobbins, who had been sidelined, has started a rehab assignment and is close to returning. Meanwhile, other pitchers on the 40-man roster—such as Tekoah Roby and Cooper Hjerpe—are also recovering from injuries after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year.
Elsewhere in the system, Brycen Mautz is making starts at Triple-A, while Tink Hence, another 40-man roster member, has been used in a relief role so far this season. Prospect Quinn Mathews is also pitching at Triple-A but has yet to be added to the 40-man roster. Additionally, Bruce Zimmermann, a non-roster player with prior major league experience, provides further depth at the Triple-A level.
Overall, Fitts’ injury represents both a personal setback and a missed developmental opportunity for a Cardinals team focused on building for the future.
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