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Cardinals Fears Confirmed as Richard Fitts Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
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- Cardinals Fears Confirmed as Richard Fitts Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
The St. Louis Cardinals worst fears regarding the health of Richard Fitts were realized earlier in the week when the right-handed pitcher underwentseason-ending surgery to repair a lat injury on his right side, president ofbaseball operations Chaim Bloom said.
Fitts, 26, was acquired on Nov. 27 from the Red Sox in atrade that centered around veteran pitcher Sonny Gray heading to Boston . Fitts,who nearly made the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training, was off to a hotstart with Triple-A Memphis prior to suffering the injury in his third start.
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"Bummed for him," Bloom said of Fitts via text message from Houston where the Cardinals were beginning a three-game series against theAstros. "It's a good prognosis long term, but he will not pitch (again) thisyear."
Naughton, Cards still weighing surgical options
The team has yet to determine a course of action for left-handedreliever Packy Naughton , who suffered ligament damage in his left elbow in a gamefor Memphis on Wednesday night. Naughton, who made it to the big leagues withthe Cardinals in 2022, suffered major elbow injuries in 2023 and again in 2024.He missed all of the 2025 season and was pushing for another MLB promotion whendisaster struck again.
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Bloom said Naughton and the club are still fatheringinformation and weighing options for possible surgical procedures. AnotherTommy John ligament-replacement surgery is a possibility for Naughton.
The 6-foot-3, 239-pound Fitts was 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA inthree starts with Triple-A Memphis. He struck out 11 hitters in 15 1/3 inningspitched.
Right-handed pitcher Richard Fitts, a trade acquisition by the Cardinals in November, was 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA in three Triple-A starts prior to suffering a season-ending lat injury.
Fitts made it to the big leagues with the Red Sox in 2024and '25, but his season was cut short last season because of neuropathy in hisright arm. After a relief appeared in Baltimore on Aug. 25 – when he allowedtwo hits and three earned runs while striking out six – Fitts reported feeling numbnessin his right hand and fingers. That numbness persisted for more than two weeks,and he never pitched again for the Red Sox despite nearing a return to healthby the end of the season.
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Fitts' velocity topped out at 97 mph in Spring Trainingwhen he pitched in 9 1/3 innings and allowed six earned runs.
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