Two Open 40-Man Slots: What Next?

The Cardinal Chronicle
Armchair GM — Two Open 40-Man Slots: What Next?
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The season rarely unfolds the way you draw it up in March.

On Friday, the Cardinals confirmed that right-hander Richard Fitts will miss the remainder of the 2026 season following surgery to repair a right lat strain. It’s a tough break for a pitcher who figured into the club’s depth plans—and it quietly changes the math inside the front office.

Because now, the Cardinals don’t just have a hole on the pitching depth chart.

They have two open seats on the 40-man roster.

And in a long season, that’s not a problem—it’s leverage.

 
The Reality of the Situation
With the roster sitting at 39 players following recent moves, placing Fitts on the 60-day IL opens a second slot. That gives President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom something every front office values:

Flexibility.

But flexibility only matters if you use it wisely. Fill both spots too quickly, and you’ll be cutting someone loose in a month. Sit on them too long, and you risk falling behind.

The key here isn’t activity.

It’s discipline.

 
Move One: Fix What’s Already in Front of You
If there’s a clean move on the board, it’s this:

Add Nelson Velázquez to the 40-man roster.

Velázquez did everything you could ask this spring—hit for average, showed power, and forced his name into the conversation. The only reason he wasn’t in St. Louis on Opening Day was simple math.

Now the math has changed.

The Cardinals’ outfield depth has been tested early, and Velázquez represents a low-risk, immediate solution. This isn’t a projection move—it’s a correction.

 
Move Two: Don’t Rush the Future
This is where the conversation gets louder—and where a steady hand matters most.

There will be calls to bring up Quinn Mathews. But this isn’t the moment.

Adding a top pitching prospect to the 40-man roster in April isn’t just about filling innings—it starts clocks, reshapes timelines, and limits flexibility down the road. Once you make that move, you don’t get it back.

Good organizations don’t promote prospects to solve short-term problems.

They promote them when they’re ready to stay.

If the Cardinals add a pitcher to the 40-man roster, it's likely 31-yr-old, MLB veteran, LHP Bruce Zimmerman who has pitched well at Memphis this season, or 25-year-old, RHP Cade Winquest, who recently returned to the Cardinals from the Yankees who selected Winquest in the Rule 5 Draft from St. Louis.

 
The Quiet Move That Wins Seasons
If you’ve followed Chaim Bloom long enough, you know how this tends to go.

One of those open spots may not go to a headline name at all.

It may go to a pitcher you’ve barely heard of—claimed off waivers, added for depth, and sent to Memphis to build innings. It’s not flashy. It won’t trend.

But those are the arms that carry you through June and July when the schedule tightens and the injuries pile up.

Depth isn’t exciting.

It’s necessary.

 
A Secondary Consideration Behind the Plate
There’s also a quieter layer to watch.

If the Cardinals begin leaning more heavily on Iván Herrera as a bat—whether at DH or first base—the need for defensive stability behind the plate increases.

That’s where Jimmy Crooks enters the picture, but concerns about his strikeout rate is an issue and the Cardinals don't think adding a catcher is an urgent need today, but it’s something the front office will keep in its back pocket.

 
The Old School Take
This is where patience separates contenders from pretenders.

You don’t chase April problems with May solutions.

You don’t rush prospects because the noise gets loud.

And you don’t fill every open spot just because it’s there.

The smartest play here is the simplest one:

Add Velázquez and strengthen the present
Hold the second spot and protect the future
Stay active, not reactive
That’s how you manage a roster over 162 games.

And more often than not, that’s how you’re still standing when it matters in September.

Cardinal Chronicle in association with Gateway Sports