The Cardinals announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of lefty Bruce Zimmermann from Triple-A Memphis. Reliever Ryan Fernandez has been optioned to Memphis to clear a spot on the active roster. In order to open a 40-man roster spot, the Cards placed righty Max Rajcic on the 60-day injured list due to an unspecified right elbow issue. Manager Oli Marmol said last night that Rajcic was headed for a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister, via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, who added that there’s “real concern” of a serious injury for the young righty. The subsequent 60-day IL placement clearly indicates as much.

St. Louis also announced this morning that righty Hunter Dobbins will be the 27th man in today’s doubleheader. Matt Svanson starts a bullpen game in the first contest, with Zimmermann likely to follow in long relief. Dobbins getting the nod in game two. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cards are getting righty Michael McGreevy an extra day of rest with this setup.

Zimmermann, 31, spent the 2025 season in the Brewers organization, albeit mostly in Triple-A. The former Orioles southpaw pitched six innings in a big league spot start last season but was otherwise in Nashville, where he totaled 138 innings with a solid 4.11 earned run average. He’s had a similarly nice year in Triple-A with the Cardinals, working 78 2/3 frames over 15 starts and logging a 3.78 ERA. He’s thrown more sliders and splitters than usual with the Cardinals’ Memphis affiliate this season and enjoyed a 25.7% strikeout rate that’s quite a bit higher than last year’s 18.8% rate.

Zimmermann doesn’t have minor league options, so this could be a one-off stint for him. He’d be unavailable in relief for a few days if he throws several innings today, and the Brewers could recall Fernandez or another arm not long after the All-Star break.

Fernandez has a solid 2.70 ERA in a tiny sample of 13 1/3 innings this season, but he’s pitched back-to-back days and was tagged for three runs (two earned) without recording an out last night. He wasn’t going to be available for the next couple days at least, so he’ll be swapped out for a new length option in Zimmermann.

The Rajcic news is particularly tough for the organization. The 24-year-old right-hander had just been promoted for his big league debut last month. A 2022 sixth-round pick, Rajcic breezed through 40 2/3 Triple-A innings this season, logging a 2.88 ERA with a 28.4% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. He’s allowed five runs on six hits and six walks with eight punchouts in innings to begin his career, but it now seems he’ll be sidelined for an extended period.

Second opinions from renowned surgeons and vague/non-specific IL placements are about as ominous as it gets for hard-throwing young relievers. Today’s IL move means the Cardinals have already acknowledged he’ll miss at least two months. There’ll be natural speculation regarding a UCL surgery, which would sideline Rajcic for most or all of the 2027 season, but a bone spur/loose body or a flexor muscle strain could also necessitate a lengthy shutdown while carrying a less-onerous recovery timetable. Jones noted that Rajcic’s second opinion might not come until next week, so it could be some time before there’s definitive news on the young righty’s outlook.