ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals placed right-hander Matt Pushard on the 15-day injured list Tuesday (retroactive to Monday) with right knee patellar tendonitis.
“He was very limited yesterday when he came in, range of motion in that right knee,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the Rule 5 right-hander. “He’s had it before, but not to the degree where he felt it yesterday.
“He was unavailable yesterday and after some imaging, he wasn’t going to be available here for several days. Downtime to let that calm down. So, we made the move.”
Pushard made his lone appearance of the season in Sunday’s eighth inning, allowing three earned runs over an inning of work in his Major League debut against the Rays.
The club recalled right-hander Gordon Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding roster move. Graceffo had appeared for Memphis once this season, recording four outs in a successful save opportunity on Friday.
Graceffo has seen stints with St. Louis in each of the last two campaigns, experience which has the 26-year-old feeling comfortable and equipped for getting back into the mix this time around.
“For one, I could come in and eat today,” Graceffo joked Tuesday. “I wasn’t nervous enough to not eat. Last year was a little different story.”
One characteristic of Graceffo’s presence that benefits the Cardinals in this early stage of the season is his ability to throw multiple innings in a given relief appearance.
“Early in the year, the more guys in that ‘pen that can give you multiples, that’s a positive,” Marmol said.
With Kyle Leahy now serving as a member of the starting rotation, Graceffo -- a former Minor League starter -- could be suited to the type of versatile relief role that Leahy so valuably filled for the Cardinals in 2025.
“The bullpen last year was phenomenal, and a big part of it was Kyle,” Graceffo said. “He was just that bridge between the starter and JoJo [Romero] and Riley [O’Brien], all of our late-inning guys.
“I’ll go out and do whatever role they need me to do, but that’s a role that I feel like I could succeed in and see myself doing.”
Dobbins begins rehab assignment
Right-hander Hunter Dobbins was slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday night. Dobbins was scheduled to start for the Redbirds against Norfolk.
This is the next step in the progression back from a July 2025 ACL surgery for Dobbins, who came over to the Cardinals in a trade with Boston this winter. Dobbins logged a 4.13 ERA in 61 innings pitched last season for the Red Sox before suffering the ACL injury that has had him sidelined from competition since.
As he progresses up to a starter’s workload in the coming weeks with Memphis, Dobbins’ performance will certainly have the eye of Cardinals brass.
“It’s a medical decision until it turns into a baseball decision,” Marmol said.
Dobbins can spend up to 30 days on his rehab assignment as he ramps up to be activated from the IL.