The Cardinals’ rotation took a hit this week, but the damage may end up opening a door St. Louis needs to walk through anyway.
For much of the season, the Cardinals’ starters have held things together. Even after moving Dustin May to the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline, the group still posted a 3.95 ERA, good for ninth in the league. That kind of work has kept the unit respectable, even as the club sits 66-66 and more than five games out of the playoff race.
Now the margin for error has shrunk fast. On Friday, St.
Louis placed Andre Pallante on the 15-day injured list because of right elbow inflammation. Later that day, Hunter Dobbins left the game with right forearm tightness and also landed on the 15-day injured list.
That leaves the rotation in a tough spot. Pallante had made 24 starts this season, while Dobbins stepped in after May had already made 21 starts before his trade. Kyle Leahy is also on an innings restriction for the rest of the year, which leaves the Cardinals thin on dependable starting options.
The timing matters, too. St.
Louis has dropped four of its last five, and with only 30 games remaining, the postseason path is looking steeper by the day. The club did bring up Quinn Matthews, but with just four starters on the active roster, there’s at least a chance for someone else to grab a turn.
That could mean an opportunity for Cooper Hjerpe, who MLB.com’s Josh Jacobs noted has been outstanding at Triple-A. "Down in Triple-A, Cooper Hjerpe has been dynamite on the mound, posting a 0.60 ERA in four starts since being called up to the level," Jacobs wrote on Monday. "Drafted in the first round by the Cardinals in 2022, Hjerpe could make his MLB debut soon, but he is on his own innings restriction in his return from April 2025 Tommy John surgery and hasn’t gone beyond 4 2/3 innings pitched in a game this season.
"The Cardinals recently signed veteran left-hander Josh Fleming to a Minor League deal, and in his first start for Memphis on Sunday, he covered five innings of work while allowing four runs. Fleming could certainly provide the Cardinals with a veteran presence, but he has not regularly started games at the Major League level since 2021."
The bigger picture is hard to ignore. If St. Louis keeps slipping, the rotation injuries may push the organization toward something more useful than a late-season chase: more chances for young arms, more development time, and a better look at the pitchers who could matter down the road.
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