The Cardinal Chronicle Cardinals Lose RHP Richard Fitts to Season-Ending Surgery

By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals have taken a significant hit to their pitching depth.

Right-hander Richard Fitts will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the lat strain that recently landed him on the injured list, according to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. The expectation is that Fitts will make a full recovery, but his 2026 season is over before it ever truly got started.

This one stings—not just because of the loss, but because of what Fitts represented.

A Promising Start, Cut Short

Before the injury, Fitts had quietly been one of the more encouraging arms at Triple-A Memphis. Over three starts, he posted a 1.76 ERA and was beginning to look like a legitimate depth option for the big-league club. The stuff was there, the command was improving, and the trajectory was pointing up.

Then came the lat strain—a notoriously tricky injury for pitchers. And now, surgery.

A Pattern That Raises Concern

This isn’t happening in a vacuum.

Fitts’ recent history tells a story that the Cardinals—and frankly, every organization—knows all too well:

Arm neuritis ended his 2025 season early, pectoral and biceps issues limited him before that, now a lat injury requiring surgery.

At some point, it stops being bad luck and starts becoming a durability question.

That doesn’t mean the book is closed—not even close. But it does mean the margin for error gets smaller.

Why This Matters For the St. Louis Cardinals, this isn’t just about one pitcher.

Fitts was part of the return in the Sonny Gray trade—a deal designed to reshape pitching depth and build for both now and later. Losing him for the entire season removes one of those potential bridge arms between Memphis and St. Louis.

And over a 162-game season, you don’t just need five starters… you need eight, nine, sometimes ten.

The Long ViewBloom’s comments suggest optimism long-term, and that matters. A healthy Fitts still has the arsenal—a mid-90s fastball, a sharp slider, and the kind of profile that can play at the major league level.

But for now, this becomes a waiting game.

Rehab. Recovery. Reset.

That’s the business side of baseball nobody likes talking about—but it’s part of the grind.

And for a young arm trying to establish himself, it’s a tough road to walk.

Cardinal Chronicle in association with Gateway Sports\