This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ST. LOUIS -- Having already endured more than enough arm injuries for one MLB career, Dustin May’s interest was piqued in potentially pitching for the Cardinals during an online presentation given to him by director of medical operations/head athletic trainer Adam Olsen in early December.
When Olsen informed May that the Cardinals did not have an arm injury to a pitcher in the 2025 season -- believed to be a first for the franchise in 43 years (since the World Series-winning 1982 season) -- May fired off a series of questions about arm care routines, strengthening programs and the role of conditioning for pitchers. How, the pitcher who has endured two-time Tommy John surgeries wondered, could the Cards possibly defy the odds and go the 2025 season without an arm injury?
“That was definitely something that [commanded his attention] when we were going through the [free agency] process and talking to teams and learning about how the Cardinals do stuff with their pitchers,” said May, who ultimately signed a one-year, free-agent deal with the Cardinals on Dec. 17. “[The Cardinals] really made a push that they have a strong track record of [keeping pitchers healthy], and I was very excited to hear that.”
In a day and age when it isn’t uncommon for teams to have multiple pitchers on the injured list with elbow pains, flexor tendon strains and shoulder irritations, St. Louis was able to avoid such maladies by being strategic and cautious with its pitchers, particularly in March and April, when major arm injuries most often come. The Cards stayed in the chase for a postseason spot until the final week of the 2025 season, as Sonny Gray (32 starts), Miles Mikolas (31 starts), Andre Pallante (31 starts), Matthew Liberatore (29 starts), Erick Fedde (20 starts) and Michael McGreevy (16 starts) stayed healthy all season.
Around baseball, high-profile pitchers such as Gerrit Cole, Corbin Burnes, Shane McClanahan, Justion Steele and Reynaldo López weren’t nearly as fortunate and missed all or most of 2025 with major arm injuries. The Astros were hit particularly hard, losing Ronel Blanco, Christian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr. and J.P. France for much of the season. Meanwhile, the Orioles slumped badly after Félix Bautista and Grayson Rodriguez went down with injuries.
The Phillies’ chance of a World Series run was damaged severely by the loss of Zack Wheeler to a right shoulder injury, while the Dodgers’ repeat as World Series champs happened only after late-season returns of pitchers Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow from arm injuries.
The Cardinals know that their avoidance of injuries happened because of a confluence of actions over the 2025 season. Manager Oliver Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake were intentional about limiting pitch counts early in the season and sprinkling in McGreevy and veteran swingman Steven Matz at various times to utilize six-man staffs. Often, they upset fans and even pitchers by pulling starters early in games to protect them from overexertion.
“The reality is that you can do everything that you think is right from a health standpoint and put players in the right positions, but you also have to get lucky to do what we did last year,” Marmol said. “We were very thoughtful about how we went about the year, we used Spring Training for what it is, and we used the first couple of weeks of April to continue the buildup. It could be frustrating at times as a fan because, ‘Why is Sonny coming out after 83 pitches?’ But we tried to be smart about that buildup and using the six-man to give guys an extra day.
“We’ll continue to use the same kind of process to try and give us the best shot and go from there.”
Of course, the Cards’ usage of pitchers in their system is far from perfect. The impetus for bringing their MLB pitchers along slowly in 2025 was the lack of starting depth in the Minors. As it turns out, the Cards lost Minor League prospects Quinn Mathews (ranked No. 5 in the Cards’ system), Tekoah Roby (No. 8), Tink Hence (No. 14) and Cooper Hjerpe (No. 15) for long stretches of 2025 with arm injuries.
Newcomers Richard Fitts (right arm neuritis), Hunter Dobbins (torn right ACL), Brandon Clarke (finger blisters) and May (right elbow neuritis) are hopeful that St. Louis’ unique style of handling pitchers will allow them to remain healthy in 2026. “Sign me up for that right now,” joked Fitts, who was acquired in the deal that sent Gray to Boston.
“This organization has to be doing something right, whether it’s arm care or strength training,” Fitts added. “Knock on wood that I won‘t ever have to deal with an arm injury again. I want to make all my starts, pitch all the innings I can and be heathy with the Cardinals.”