Infield prospect JJ Wetherholt has made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster. President of baseball operations Chaim Bloom passed the news along to reporters, including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Infielders Thomas Saggese and José Fermín as well as outfielder Nathan Church will also break camp with the club, though outfielder Nelson Velázquez will be assigned to Triple-A Memphis. A corresponding move will be necessary to open a spot for Wetherholt.
The news on Wetherholt is notable but not surprising. It has seemed all winter long as though the Cards had planned for him to get a shot in the big leagues. They cleared out their roster this winter by trading guys like Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan. Those trade were partly for cost savings but also to open some playing time for younger players as the Cards are rebuilding and need to assess their young guys in a major league environment.
Wetherholt was one of the main guys who needed some room. The seventh overall pick of the 2024 draft, he climbed to the cusp of the majors last year. He split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, making 496 plate appearances in total. His 14.5% walk rate was excellent and almost as high as his 14.7% strikeout rate. He produced a combined .306/.421/.510 batting line, which translated to a 154 wRC+. He stole 23 bases on the year. His defense at shortstop was considered good enough for him to stay there as a big leaguer but he also played some second and third base.
As the 2026 season drew closer and the annual top 100 lists came out, Wetherholt was in the top 10 of most of them. But at the beginning of the season, the Cards had a fairly crowded infield. Masyn Winn is one of the best defensive shortstops on the majors and is controlled for another four seasons. They had Arenado at third. Donovan could bounce around the diamond but played second base more than any other spot.
As mentioned, the Cards clarified their roster picture over the winter and opened a spot for Wetherholt, though Wynn’s glovework is so strong that he never seemed at risk of being unseated at short. It felt likely that Nolan Gorman would take over at third, with Wetherholt the favorite for the second base gig. In camp, Wetherholt hit two home runs and also drew walks in 20.5% of his 44 plate appearances. Though he was held back by a .200 batting average on balls in play, he still produced a .212/.386/.394 line and 115 wRC+.
That performance was enough to solidify the expected plan, so the Cards will indeed open the season with Wetherholt on the roster. By giving him an Opening Day spot, they will keep the Prospect Promotion Incentive on the table. Since Wetherholt is a consensus top 100 guy, if he spends enough time on the big league roster to earn a full service year this season, he could net the Cards an extra draft pick by winning Rookie of the Year or finishing top three in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons.
That will be a secondary concern. For the Cards, the focus is on putting together a core that can get them back to contention. Ideally, Wetherholt will be a big part of that in the long run, though sometimes even the best prospects don’t find immediate success. The Cards are in a position to let him get a lot of reps in order to maximize the chances of him getting acclimated to the big leagues.
As for the other moves, the Velázquez decision is perhaps the most surprising. In the offseason, the Cards had been looking to add a right-handed complement for their outfield, as Lars Nootbaar and Victor Scott II are both lefties. They didn’t sign any such player to a major league deal but brought Velázquez into camp as a non-roster invitee. As of a week ago, it seemed likely that Velázquez would be getting a spot, especially with Nootbaar slated to start the season on the injured list.
Velázquez put up a monster .357/.449/.667 line in spring training but that evidently wasn’t enough. Perhaps that’s due to roster concerns. As mentioned, the Cards need to open one 40-man spot for Wetherholt. Nootbaar is going to start the season on the 10-day IL but there hasn’t been anything to suggest he will need a move to the 60-day IL. Hunter Dobbins is still rehabbing a torn ACL from last year. It’s unclear how much longer it will take for him to be game ready.
Unless Dobbins ends up on the 60-day IL, the Cards will have to remove someone to make room for Wetherholt, whether that’s a trade or designating someone for assignment. Adding Velázquez would have meant another such move. It doesn’t appear Velázquez has any kind of opt-out in his deal, so the Cards will send him to the minors and keep him around without using a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Jeffrey Camarati, Imagn Images
Alotta prospects making opening day rosters
Tms want those ppi picks
Should be a competitive ROY race, though the AL seems a bit tougher this year. I feel good about Wetherholt’s chances too
Nelson Velasquez should be up soon.
How does Velasquez not make the team?
I wish him well. Is he useful defensively, yet?
Fermin is out of options, Church is currently their only other CF option other than the starter Scott, and Velazquez isn’t on the 40-man roster like the others are.
I don’t understand what they see in Fermin to be willing to block someone else in order to keep him, especially since they are rebuilding.
Fermin is about to turn 27 and Velazquez just turned 27 in December, so if I were going to defend these actions I would say that neither player is likely a long-term piece, and if either become substantial contributor at the MLB level they’d both likely become trade bait over the next two years. So from an asset management perspective, better to keep them both in the organization for now rather than risk losing Fermin for nothing.
Seems like Nelson Velázquez earned a shot
Very legal and very cool.
It’s a shame about Velazquez after his monster Spring Training, but Fermin is out of options, and they need Church as their CF backup (for at least while Nootbaar is on the IL). They will also need to add Velazquez to the 40-man roster when he gets called up.
Ridiculous. Purely ridiculous.
His Spring Training numbers show he has a good eye at the plate, so he has that going for him.
Weatherholt says, “It gon rain!!”
Velázquez should have made the club. This 40-man roster has plenty of players who could be trimmed.
Agreed. They really like fermin but he’s had a brutal spring. I think Velasquez brings more to the table. Walker is currently clogging up a spot that could be better utilized. And im surprised jojo hasn’t been traded yet
I’m not so sure this doesn’t sort itself out before the weeks out. This just buys Chaim some time. I’m betting Velasquez will be back up very soon
Saggese is better and even more versatile than Fermin. Fermin should have just been cut loose and Velazquez should have made the team.
One would think Pozo is going to be the number crunch. Can have 5 catchers on your 40 man.
Tekoah Roby was put on the 60 day yesterday, they have a 40 man spot.
When you aren’t trying to compete roster management is centered on giving players exposure as much playing time as you can to showcase them for other teams deal for. Basically the rest of the league’s AAAA.