The Boston Red Sox's many trades were a main story of this offseason, and one of their biggest sent then-rookie pitcher Hunter Dobbins (alongside two other prospects) to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Willson Contreras.
The deal has been more than worth it for Boston, as Contreras has been the club's best hitter all season. He's also grown into a leader of the Sox's young core. Dobbins was also on the injured list at the time of the trade after he tore his ACL and subsequently underwent surgery in July 2025.
Not even a year into his Cardinals career, Dobbins is on the long-term IL again. St. Louis on August 22 placed the 27-year-old righty on the 15-day IL with forearm tightness. Dobbins on September 2 underwent reconstructive surgery to fix his elbow issue, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals expect his recovery to take 12 months.
Dobbins has already undergone Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, which is part of what makes his expected recovery time so long. Goold reports that the length of his recovery coupled with the late-season timing of Dobbins' procedure could push his next start all the way back to 2028 (subscription required).
Former Red Sox pitcher Hunter Dobbins undergoes elbow surgery, will be a year before he returns to Cardinals rotation
When he's been healthy, Dobbins has had a solid debut season with the Cards. He's logged a 3.67 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 52 strikeouts and 24 walks over 54 innings in the major leagues. He's been optioned and recalled from Triple-A four times and largely delivered each time.
The Red Sox traded away a fair few depth pitchers this season, including Dobbins, Richard Fitts (who is also a Cardinal now), Tyler Uberstine, David Sandlin and more. Boston's rotation is slowing down the stretch — Sonny Gray needed his scheduled September 1 start pushed back and Ranger Suarez hasn't looked as sharp since he came off the IL on July 26 — and extra major league pitching depth would be useful, but Dobbins' injury would take him out of the picture.
The Contreras-Dobbins trade is working in Boston's favor so far, despite the pitcher's good season. If not for Yordan Alvarez, Contreras would be a frontrunner in the American League MVP conversation. Even without the high honor, the veteran is having a season worthy of Red Sox history, and for that, Dobbins is more than a reasonable price to pay.
When he's healthy and his elbow issues are fully out of the way, Dobbins will be a quality starter in this league. Unfortunately for the righty, it'll be more than a year before he's back on the big league mound again.
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