The Cardinals promoted lefty starter Bruce Zimmermann, 31, on Tuesday and optioned struggling reliever Ryan Fernandez. The Cards, who announced that Matt Svanson and Hunter Dobbins will start Tuesday's two games, will reportedly promote changeup specialist Luis Gastelum on Wednesday.
To try and ready themselves for Tuesday’s doubleheader against the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals made a series of moves and decisions in hopes of fortifying their starting staff and relief corps.
First, the Cardinals announced that right-handed reliever Matt Svanson will start Tuesday’s Game 1 as an “opener,” while hybrid starter/reliever Hunter Dobbins – who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis as the 27th player for the doubleheader – will start Game 2. First pitch for Game 1 – a makeup game from a May 5 rain out – will be at 1:45 p.m. CT, while Game 2 will begin at 6:45 p.m. CT.
Veteran left-hander Bruce Zimmermann, who pitched parts of five MLB seasons with the Orioles and Brewers, was selected from Triple-A Memphis where he had been 5-3 with a 3.78 ERA over 15 starts this season.
Zimmermann, a fifth-round pick by the Braves in the 2017 MLB Draft, last pitched in the big leagues in 2025 with the Brewers when he allowed seven hits, six runs, five earned runs and two homers in one start in 2025. Over his MLB career, he is 8-11 with a 5.64 ERA in 39 games (28 starts). He has had trouble with the home run ball this season at Triple-A Memphis, surrendering 14 long balls in 78 2/3 innings of work.
Ryan Fernandez, who didn’t retire any of the three relievers he faced in Monday’s game-turning, four-run seventh inning, was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
Rookie reliever Max Rajcic, who was placed on the 15-day Injured List on Monday, was moved to the 60-day IL on Tuesday. Rajcic, who last pitched in Friday's 17-1 rout of the Cubs, is feared to have suffered a major elbow injury and he is scheduled to travel to Dallas next week for a second opinion on his ailing elbow. It is the first arm injury that required a stint on the IL for a Cardinals pitcher in 22 months, incredibly dating back to Sept. 25, 2024, when JoJo Romero was shelved as a precautionary reason because of inflammation in the flexor tendon in his left forearm after the Cardinals had been eliminated from playoff contention.
Gastelum expected up on Wednesday
The Cardinals are also poised to promote promising Triple-A reliever Luis Gastelum on Wednesday, as first reported by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat and Words About Birds. Gastelum, 24, is 7-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 43 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A Memphis. The changeup artist will reach the big leagues on a roll, having not allowed an earned run since May 17 – an 18-game stretch where he is 4-0 with a save and 30 strikeouts. When Gastelum enters a game for the Cardinals, the native of Los Mochis, Mexico will be making his MLB debut.
Dobbins, who was acquired in the Cardinals trading of Willson Contreras to the Red Sox last December, was recalled to a St. Louis squad that has used him both as a starter and a reliever this season. In four games (two starts), he has gone 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA. He has struck out 19 hitters in 17 1/3 innings of work, but he has surrendered three homers. He was 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 13 games (11 starts) with the Red Sox in 2025. He made his MLB debut against the Cardinals in April of 2025 and picked up his first MLB victory.
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