Cardinals Option Richard Fitts to Memphis, Finalizing Opening Day Rotation

Richard Fitts went 2-1 with nine strikeouts across 9.1 Grapefruit League innings this spring, numbers that would anchor a roster spot for many pitchers. For the 26-year-old right-hander, they weren't enough. The Cardinals optioned Fitts to Triple-A Memphis on March 18, a transaction that simultaneously closed his case for a rotation spot and all but stamped the names of St. Louis' five Opening Day starters.

Matthew Liberatore, Dustin May, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy will begin the 2026 season in the Cardinals' rotation, though manager Oli Marmol had not yet finalized the order as of the option announcement. Marmol was expected to settle the sequencing by the end of the weekend, with spring training wrapping up Sunday and Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium set for March 26.

Liberatore figures to draw the ball first. After spending several seasons bouncing between bullpen appearances and spot starts, the left-hander established himself as a full-time rotation piece in 2025, going 8-12 with a 4.21 ERA and 122 strikeouts. He carried that form into Jupiter, posting a 2.70 ERA with 14 strikeouts across three spring starts. Dustin May is projected to follow him in the order.

Fitts, acquired as one of two pitchers in the offseason trade involving Sonny Gray, fell behind in the competition on specific measurables: pitch efficiency, walk rate, and the quality of contact he allowed. Those factors, rather than any single outing, appear to have driven the decision. Marmol had been vocal about not needing a six-man rotation to open the year, given the number of off-days built into St. Louis' early schedule, which effectively closed the bullpen door that might otherwise have kept Fitts in the big-league camp.

The club's choice to send Fitts to Memphis rather than carry him as a long man or spot reliever reflects a development calculation as much as a roster one. Consistent starts in Triple-A preserve his growth as a starter rather than asking him to work irregular innings out of the bullpen. It also simplifies the Cardinals' contingency planning: with Hunter Dobbins beginning the year on the injured list and Quinn Mathews not yet on the 40-man roster, having Fitts stretched out in Memphis makes any emergency rotation call-up far more straightforward.

The Cardinals trimmed their spring training roster to 35 players with the move, leaving 28 major-league roster players and seven non-roster invitees in camp. Fitts heads to Memphis as the organization's top rotation depth piece, the first name the club would reach for if any of its five starters stumble or get hurt in the weeks ahead.