Cardinals Righty Richard Fitts Has Season-Ending Lat Surgery

Overview

• Cardinals president Chaim Bloom confirmed Friday that Richard Fitts had surgery on his right lat and will miss the entire 2026 season, while calling the long-term outlook good.
• Fitts suffered the latissimus dorsi injury in Triple-A and went on the minor-league injured list after three starts for Memphis this month.
• He opened strong at Memphis with a 2-0 record and a 1.76 ERA, and manager Oliver Marmol said his spring showing positioned him to help the big-league staff.
• Because the injury happened in the minors, he is not earning major-league pay or service time unless the team recalls him to the 60-day injured list, which would open a 40-man spot and restart his service clock at 164 days.
• Fitts arrived from Boston in the Sonny Gray trade and made 15 MLB appearances with the Red Sox, and his loss trims rotation depth even as St. Louis’ current starters remain in place.