Cardinals cut veteran pitcher to make room for Hunter Dobbins

St. Louis Cardinals On SI · Jul 22, 2026 15:22 · 2 min read

Cardinals Cut Veteran Pitcher to Make Room for Hunter Dobbins — Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Hunter Dobbins (40) throws a pitch during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals are bringing up Hunter Dobbins back up to the big leagues.

The St. Louis Cardinals will conclude a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday afternoon and look to snap a four-game losing streak.

The expectation has been that Hunter Dobbins would be promoted and take the ball for St. Louis in the series finale. That move has now been made official. In response, the Cardinals are designating veteran reliever Scott Blewett for assignment to make room on the roster for Dobbins, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.

"Cardinals designated Scott Blewett for assignment to recall Hunter Dobbins. 40-man reduces to 39," Jones wrote.

The Cardinals DFA'd Scott Blewett

Jul 5, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Scott Blewett (67) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the sixth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It has been a roller coaster of a few weeks for Blewett, to say the least. Blewett has made 37 appearances this season down in Triple-A and logged a 5.18 ERA in 48 2/3 innings pitched. On July 15, he triggered an opt-out in his deal with St. Louis. When a player triggers an opt-out, the club typically has a little bit of time to get their affairs in order and determine whether they want to promote the player to avoid the opt-out, or let them walk.

In Blewett's case, he had his contract selected by the big league club and was promoted to the majors to replace JoJo Romero, who was placed on the 15-Day Injured List due to appendicitis.

Blewett made his Cardinals debut on Tuesday against the Angels and was effective. He pitched two scoreless innings and allowed just one base hit, walked two batters, and struck out two batters. Now, he's being designated for assignment one day later.

Now that he has been DFA'd, clubs will have an opportunity to place a waiver claim on him, if they see fit. If he goes unclaimed, the Cardinals can outright him down to Triple-A, but the 6'6'' righty could reject the assignment and head to free agency, if he were interested in a move like that.

For the Cardinals, it would be for the best if they can keep him down in the minors as a depth option. He has pitched in 44 big league games across five seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves and the Cardinals. It never hurts to have Triple-A depth with big league experience, but right now it's not a guarantee he will be back. It will become clear over the next few days.

For now, Dobbins is coming up to the majors and Blewett is being designated for assignment and has his future up in the air.