Hunter Dobbins, key trade piece Wilson Contreras, ACL injury update
The St. Louis Cardinals made the difficult decision to deliver their veterans to begin their full immersion into the youth movement. Among the players they traded was veteran Willson Contreras, who, like Sonny Gray, went to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for several prospects. The The Cardinals got a chance to throw Hunter Dobbinswho missed the final few months of the 2025 season with a torn ACL as a major part of the Contreras trade.
Dobbins reached the big leagues in 2025 and played in 13 total games for the Red Sox (11 starts), posting a 4.13 ERA. He underwent surgery to repair the torn ACL he suffered back in Julyand is still not back for the Cardinals as spring training begins.
The good news is that his arm looks fine and he is making good progress in his recovery. The bad news is that it still exists plenty of uncertainty in the Cardinals pitcher’s mobility as his knee is still on the mend.
“Hunter Dobbins recently saw a specialist as he recovers from an ACL tear. He’s alive and seems on track with his arm, but he’s limited in other aspects of the game like playing his position. If he progresses well, he’ll be in that starting mix as well,” wrote Daniel Guerrero of St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Cardinals are counting on a huge year from Hunter Dobbins
Dobbins is only 26 years old and has been more than serviceable in his first year in the big leagues. He relies mostly on his fastball and his slider, throwing them about 77 percent of the time, and has caused his fair share of weak contact that has helped offset his lackluster strikeout-to-walk ratio (45:17) in 61 innings of work in the majors.
The Cardinals will hope to unlock upside from Dobbins as they look to transform his healthy fastball, which he throws over 95 mph, into a more dangerous weapon, especially when playing off that slider.
2026-02-24 09:17:00
