Cardinals Designate Matt Pushard, Recall Hunter Dobbins

The Cardinals are designating reliever Matt Pushard for assignment, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Pushard was a Rule 5 pick and will need to be offered back to the Marlins if he goes unclaimed on waivers. Hunter Dobbins is being recalled from Triple-A in Pushard’s place. The team’s 40-man roster is now at 39.

Pushard, 28, made his big league debut on March 29th, allowing three earned runs on 31 pitches. He then spent a month and a half on the injured list with right knee patellar tendinitis. Since being activated on May 16th, Pushard has made five more appearances, allowing a single earned run in six innings. That brings Pushard’s total output with the Cardinals to a 5.14 ERA in seven innings, plus six strikeouts against four walks.

It’s hard to analyze that small of a sample, but Pushard’s raw stuff may nonetheless be intriguing to other clubs. He uses a mid-90s four-seamer 45.0% of the time, and Pushard’s upper-80s slider and low-80s cutter give him decent secondary options. The Cardinals are in third place in the NL Central with a 30-26 record and have a 22.7% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. Their bullpen is a clear area for improvement, as Cardinals relievers have combined for -0.1 fWAR and a 4.26 ERA.

In the end, Pushard may have been too much of an unknown to keep on the roster, especially if St. Louis adds to the bullpen as the season goes on. Now that he’s designated, Pushard will be offered up to other clubs on the waiver wire. If he is claimed, he would need to remain on that club’s active roster or big league IL through the end of the season. At any point, Pushard can be offered back to the Marlins for a $50k fee. If the Marlins decline, he could be outrighted to the minors instead.

Meanwhile, Dobbins returns to the Majors after spending a month at Triple-A on optional assignment. He arrived in St. Louis alongside Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita via trade in December, with Willson Contreras heading to Boston. Dobbins missed the first month of the season recovering from last year’s season-ending ACL tear. He made one start for the Cardinals on April 30th before being optioned, allowing three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. If he sticks in the Majors, Dobbins can be controlled via arbitration through the 2031 season.

As with their bullpen, the Cardinals’ rotation is a Bottom-10 unit this year. The group has a 4.17 ERA, and their 4.90 expected ERA suggests a bit of luck in that output. Cardinals starters have struck out just 19.3% of opposing hitters, ranking fourth-worst in the league in that regard. Michael McGreevy‘s 2.98 ERA comes with a 5.63 expected figure. Dustin May, Andre Pallante, and Matthew Liberatore have been serviceable at best. Dobbins won’t be a game-changer by any means, but he had a 3.94 xERA in 13 appearances (11 starts) last year with Boston and holds long-term promise. Per Jones, Dobbins is available out of the ‘pen today in a bulk role and figures to join the rotation if he doesn’t get used.