The St. Louis Cardinals entered this offseason with a mission statement to build for the future, often times at the expense of the team's most established veterans.

One of the players the Cardinals opted to trade was starting pitcher Sonny Gray. St. Louis dealt the veteran right-handed pitcher and cash to the Boston Red Sox on Nov. 25, 2025, in return for right-handed pitcher Richard Fitts and left-handed pitcher Brandon Clarke.

Fitts will have an opportunity to break camp on St. Louis' starting rotation and made his first case to do just that in the team's Grapefruit League showdown against the New York Mets on Wednesday.

In the Cardinals' 6-0 win against the Mets, Fitts pitched two innings, struck out one, allowed two hits and didn't issue a walk or allow an earned run.

Fitts threw 37 pitches in his outing, 28 of which were strikes. He generated six whiffs in his outing.

Fitts showed off six pitches against New York. He threw his four-seam fastball 11 times, sweeper 10 times, slider six times, two-seam fastball (sinker) five times, curveball three times and changeup twice. His one strikeout was with his fastball.

One of the biggest takeaways from Fitts' start was his uptick in fastball velocity.

According to Baseball Savant, Fitts averaged 97.6 mph on 11 offerings with his four-seamer. That's up from his career average of 95.9 mph. Three of his six whiffs were with his fastball.

Fitts was originally selected in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees out of Auburn. He was traded to the Red Sox on Dec. 5, 2023, in a deal that sent outfielder Alex Verdugo to the Bronx.

Fitts made his major league debut with Boston in 2024. He made just four starts that season.

Fitts broke camp with the Red Sox last season, but a right pectoral strain and right arm neuritis limited his outings to just 11 (10 starts). He posted a 5.00 ERA and struck out 40 batters in 43 innings pitched.

The 26-year-old right-hander is current projected to be on the outside looking in with the starting rotation.

FanGraphs' roster resource projections currently predicts St. Louis will enter Opening Day on March 26 with a starting rotation of: Matthew Liberatore, Dustin May, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy.

If Fitts first spring training outing is a sign of things to come for Fitts, he might force his way onto the team's rotation when the season begins against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 26.

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