St. Louis Cardinals

Matt Pushard

RP

Pushard landed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with right knee patellar tendinitis. The Rule 5 selection will be eligible to return April 14 but could be given more time than that to recuperate.

Hunter Dobbins

SP

Dobbins managed to build up during spring training, though the team has limited him in fielding drills as he continues to rehab from ACL surgery last July. A timetable for his return from the injured list is unclear at this time, and even once he is fully healthy, it's unknown if he'll have a spot in the rotation waiting for him.

Ixan Henderson

SP

Henderson reported to Cardinals camp in spring training with a flexor strain in his pitching arm and is now slated to miss at least the first two months of the minor-league season. It's unclear whether the left-hander has resumed throwing or remains shut down. Henderson had a breakout 2025 season at Double-A Springfield, holding a 2.59 ERA and 134:51 K:BB in 132 innings across 25 starts.

Lars Nootbaar

LF

Bloom noted that the team's current wish is to avoid the 60-day IL with Nootbaar, as the transaction would leave him ineligible to make his season debut until late May. However, that decision will be made after the Cardinals get a better sense of how far Nootbaar is along in his rehab from offseason surgery on both heels. Per Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com, Nootbaar is slated to take batting practice with minor leaguers at the team's spring training complex Tuesday. St. Louis will use a combination of Nathan Church, Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin in left field until Nootbaar is ready.

Victor Santos

RP

Santos, whom the Cardinals recently acquired from the Red Sox in the deal that sent outfielder Tyler O'Neill to Boston, looks to be healthy again after he missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from an elbow injury. When he was healthy in 2022, the 23-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.97 ERA while striking out 126 batters over 145 innings between stops at Triple-A Worcester and Double-A Portland. Santos will likely begin his tenure in the St. Louis organization as rotation depth at Triple-A Memphis.

Sem Robberse

SP

Robberse was non-tendered by St. Louis on Friday, but the club has since elected to bring him back on a minor-league deal. He's currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss the first few months of the 2026 campaign.

Zack Thompson

RP

Thompson was attending big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee, but he hadn't appeared in any Grapefruit League games while continuing to work his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, which he underwent back in August. The southpaw has initiated a throwing program but hasn't yet gotten back on a mound, so he still has multiple checkpoints to reach in the recovery process before being deemed ready for game action.