Sep 12, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante (53) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Cardinals Facing Difficult Andre Pallante Decision

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Feb 24, 2026 12:57 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation is up in the air right now with Opening Day roughly one month away.

This isn't a bad thing, by any means. St. Louis has a surplus of young starters to the point where everyone likely won't have a role in the big league rotation to kick off the 2026 season. For St. Louis, starter options include Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante, Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins. This doesn't even include No. 6 prospect Quinn Matthews, who isn't far from the big leagues himself.

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Of all the options, McGreevy, Liberatore and May are the most obvious options. Then, everything else is up in the air. Leahy has been stretched out as a starter in Spring Training after logging a 3.07 ERA in 62 total appearances for St. Louis in 2025. He got the start for the Cardinals on Sunday and went two innings and allowed one run. St. Louis has played three games so far and the starters have been Liberatore, Leahy and McGreevy. Pallante will get the ball on Tuesday followed by Fitts on Wednesday.

The Cardinals have a rotation decision to make

Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

If Leahy gets the No. 4 spot, that would leave the No. 5 spot up in the air for Fitts, Dobbins and Pallante. Arguably, the Cardinals should view Pallante similarly to how they viewed Steven Matz last spring.

Matz has been a starter for the majority of his career, but as a swingman for St. Louis before being traded. He mainly was a bulk innings guy out of the bullpen, but did make a few spot starts for St. Louis as well. Arguably, that's how Pallante should be used.

He had a 5.31 ERA in 31 starts in 2025. The year before, he had a 3.78 ERA in 29 total appearances, including 20 starts. As a rookie in 2022, he had a 3.17 ERA in 47 total appearances, including 10 starts. If the Cardinals use him as a swingman, that would open the door for either Fitts or Dobbins for the No. 5 spot, which makes sense after the Cardinals acquired both from the Boston Red Sox.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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