PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Richard Fitts has two goals this spring, and the success of the first may very well determine his ability to achieve the second.
The 26-year-old is among the pitchers competing for a place in the Cardinals’ rotation, and while earning one of those five spots is Fitts’ focus, he believes his health — which was an issue late last season — is the key to breaking camp with a starting job.
“My big goal this year is just to be healthy,” Fitts said. “When I’m healthy and when I am pitching consistently, I feel like I’m pitching well. If it were my decision, I would definitely be in the rotation, because I’m going to be the biggest advocate for myself. At the same time, it’s their decision. I’m going to try my best to make it a really easy decision to put me in there.”
Fitts’ spring audition started off on a positive note, as the right-hander allowed two hits — neither of which left the infield — with one strikeout over a pair of scoreless innings in the Cards’ 6-0 win over the Mets on Wednesday.
Pitchers in Fitts’ spot often resort to clichés when discussing the importance of exhibition results, dismissing the meaning of spring starts — both good and bad. Fitts has a different thought process when it comes to his line in the box score, especially when it comes to the quality of contact he’s allowing.
“The results definitely do matter,” Fitts said. “I don’t want anybody to touch first base by any means, but if those two runs scored off of infield singles — not that it doesn’t matter, but I think I still went out there and I showed that I was healthy and I can compete for a spot and not necessarily lose sleep over that.”
Most pitchers vying for a spot in the rotation also swear up and down that they aren’t focused on the competition. Asked if he spends much time thinking about it, Fitts smiled.
“Probably a little too much,” Fitts said. “Just a super-honest answer.”
Acquired from the Red Sox in November as part of the return for Sonny Gray, Fitts owns a 3.97 ERA over 15 career big-league games (14 starts) with Boston. He went 1-4 with a 4.83 ERA in 10 starts last season before picking up a win in a four-inning relief appearance on Aug. 25. Then, a nerve condition in his right arm sent him to the injured list. It was his second trip to the IL in 2025, having missed three weeks early in the season with a pectoral strain.
Considering that Fitts had never dealt with any physical issues in the past, the IL stints — especially the arm-related injury — were an eye-opening experience.
“He appreciates every time being able to toe the rubber,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “It just gives you a different perspective when you have to sit around not being able to do the one thing you love.”
Fitts topped out at 98.6 mph on Wednesday, reaching at least 95.9 mph – his average velocity in 2025 – with each of his 16 fastballs.
“Being selfish, I want to feel healthy; I accomplished that today,” Fitts said. “It felt good to see some velo while feeling like I wasn’t ripping my arm off at the same time. I was happy with it.”
Although he is confident that the nerve issue that halted his 2025 campaign is behind him, Fitts understands the reality of life as a pitcher. He doesn’t obsess over the injury and its aftermath, but to say it never enters his mind would be an overstatement.
“I’m talking to all of our athletic trainers here and they’re like, ‘What are you going to do today?’ I’m like, ‘I want to feel good tomorrow, so what should I do?’” Fitts said. “So the injury does kind of come up, because it’s like, ‘How can we prevent it?’ But it’s not me thinking, ‘This next throw I might be hurt, kind of thing.’ So I am stacking healthy days together, but I’m still thinking about it a little bit.”
The Cardinals are viewing Fitts as a candidate for the rotation, though with more starters than spots, the simple math dictates that some will wind up either in the bullpen or the Minors. Only five games into the spring, Marmol isn’t ready to start thinking about how things will shake out for the group and the potential scenarios.
“As we get closer and we’ll see kind of where we are from a health standpoint, then we can make a decision on what makes the most sense,” Marmol said. “As of right now, he’s competing for one of those five spots.”
