Cardinals Notes: Velázquez, Church, Gorman
The Cardinals spent much of the offseason looking for a right-handed bat to add to their outfield group. Interest in Austin Hays, Miguel Andujar and old friend Harrison Bader did not lead to a deal, however. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat writes that the Cardinals had a tough time selling the opportunity to veterans seeking big league deals, as someone like Hays or Andujar would only be assured playing time while Lars Nootbaar mended from his dual heel surgery. Once healthy, Nootbaar will rejoin an outfield also expected to include defensive standout Victor Scott II in center field and former top prospect Jordan Walker in right field.
The looming return of Nootbaar would be a sensible deterrent for any veteran looking to maximize playing time in order to secure a multi-year deal in the future (e.g. Hays, Andujar) or one who was seeking a multi-year opportunity this winter (e.g. Bader). That wasn’t as big a factor for players simply looking for non-roster opportunities, however, and Jones writes that one such player is now all but guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster: Nelson Velázquez.
The 27-year-old Velázquez has had a monster spring, clubbing four homers in 39 plate appearances with an overall .333/.436/.727 slash and six walks against only three strikeouts. He also had a nice showing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, hitting .277/.377/.423 with 22 walks against 29 strikeouts in 159 turns at the plate.
Velázquez has played in parts of three major league seasons between the Cubs and Royals, combining for a .212/.286/.433 batting line and 31 home runs in 615 plate appearances. There’s little doubting his power potential, but a 28.8% strikeout rate has held him back. Velázquez’s approach isn’t particularly poor; he walks at a slightly better-than-average 8.5% rate, and his chase rate on balls off the plate is several percentage points shy of average. Rather, his sub-par hit tool has been the primary deterrent. Velázquez’s 76.2% contact rate on pitches over the plate is nearly nine percentage points shy of average, however, and his 43% contact rate when he does chase off the plate is 14 percentage points lower than average.
That said, Velázquez has made some gains in terms of cutting his strikeout rate and upping his walk rate both in winter ball and in his past couple runs at the Triple-A level. He’s certainly not going to continue his preposterous spring training production, but even some modest gains in his contact ability could help him break through as a power-over-hit corner bat. Assuming he indeed makes the roster, he’ll have the opportunity to carve out some staying power even after Nootbaar returns. Velázquez is out of minor league options, so he can’t be sent down without passing through waivers, but he’s also controllable for five more seasons via arbitration. At the very least, he’s put himself in strong position to earn another big league opportunity after spending 2025 in Triple-A (between the Pirates and Royals).
Also in strong position is outfielder Nathan Church, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The lefty-swinging 25-year-old has hit .286/.412/.429 in 34 turns at the plate this spring. He could find himself in something of a platoon situation in left field (with Velázquez) or fill a more traditional fourth outfielder role. He’s capable of playing all three spots and was credited with four Outs Above Average (per Statcast) and five Defensive Runs Saved in just 164 big league innings last year.
Church hit just .179/.254/.250 in a cup of coffee that spanned 65 plate appearances last year. His work in the minors, however, was far more impressive. In 385 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A, he slashed .329/.386/.524 with 13 homers, 16 steals, an 8.6% walk rate and just a 9.6% strikeout rate.
“His demeanor has been different, overall confidence is better,” manager Oli Marmol tells Ladson in discussing the difference between what he saw in Church last summer and what he’s seen this spring. “Mechanically, he has made some changes to be more consistent.”
Teammate Nolan Gorman has also been seeking consistency — in his case, for the past several years. The former first-rounder and top prospect has shown flashes of enormous power potential in the past but still hasn’t solidified himself as a productive regular. Part of that has been scattershot opportunities with Nolan Arenado at third base and Brendan Donovan seeing lots of time at second base; neither is on the roster anymore. Significant strikeout issues have been a more alarming factor. Gorman has gone down on strikes in 34% of his 1581 career plate appearances.
As Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, Gorman met with a private hitting instructor early this offseason at Arenado’s recommendation. A two-week regimen led to some mechanical changes with his setup (specifically his back elbow) and has helped him to find a more consistency with getting his front foot down during his swing.
Spring stats provide a small sample that ought to be taken with a major grain of salt, but Gorman has taken 37 plate appearances and given some reason for optimism, hitting .250/.351/.625 with three homers, five walks (13.5%) and just six strikeouts (16.2%) in 37 plate appearances.
MLBTR’s Anthony Franco previewed what looks like a make-or-break year for Gorman back in late January. With no real roadblock to playing time at third base, Gorman should be in the lineup more days than not have a bit more of a set position than in the past, when he’s bounced between third base, second base, first base and designated hitter. He’s now north of three years of major league service time as well, so if Gorman’s egregious strikeout rate resurfaces and continues to weigh down his overall production, he’d be a non-tender candidate following the season.
Hunter Dobbins To Open Season On Injured List
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Dan Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) today that right-hander Hunter Dobbins will begin the season on the injured list. Dobbins is still rehabbing from the ACL tear he suffered back in July as a member of the Red Sox. That was always likely to be the case given the typical recovery timeline that comes with injuries of that sort.
There is good news to report regarding Dobbins’s progress, however. Guerrero notes that Dobbins has been able to build up his arm strength throughout Spring Training but is not yet fully built up in terms of fielding. He spent most of spring throwing live bullpens but appeared in a backfields game yesterday, his first in-game action of camp. Guerrero adds that Dobbins was held back from covering first base during the game but will continue his fielding progression moving forward.
The 26-year-old made his big league debut with Boston last year. An eighth-round pick back in 2021, he made 13 appearances (11 starts) in the majors, with a 4.13 ERA in 61 innings of work. That was good for an exactly league average ERA+ of 100, though his FIP was a more impressive 3.87. Dobbins did not strike out many batters (17.6%) but kept his walk rate down to just 6.6% and generated grounders at a strong 48.4% clip. It was a solid debut overall that offered some reason for optimism that Dobbins could be a quality #4 starter in the majors, though with Tommy John surgery and two ACL tears on his resume the biggest challenge for the righty might be simply staying healthy.
As for 2026, Dobbins’s timeline for return isn’t known just yet, though the fact that St. Louis has not felt the need to put him on the 60-day injured list to this point in the spring is certainly at least somewhat encouraging. The Cardinals are surely hoping to get Dobbins onto the roster sooner rather than later. The righty was a key piece of the return in the Willson Contreras trade this offseason and was brought in to help fill out a rather thin pitching staff.
With Dobbins sidelined, there’s relatively little intrigue in the team’s upcoming rotation decisions. Veteran free agent addition Dustin May figures to join Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and Michael McGreevy in four of the five spots in the Cards’ rotation to open the year. That leaves one spot available in the rotation that figures to come down to either Richard Fitts or Kyle Leahy with Dobbins starting the year on the injured list. Top prospect Tink Hence doesn’t appear ready for a big league debut quite yet with zero Triple-A starts on his resume, so the team’s starting depth will be rather limited after that group of six for as long as Dobbins is on the shelf.
Which Top Prospects Could Be On 2026 Opening Day Rosters?
In the not-too-distant past, it was relatively rare for organizations to break camp with their very best prospects on the roster. It still happened at times, but MLB's service time structure was set up such that keeping a top prospect in the minors for even two weeks to begin the season effectively ensured that he'd be controllable for seven years rather than the standard six. There were obvious exceptions to this thinking -- Atlanta fans surely remember Jason Heyward breaking camp as a 20-year-old and belting a three-run homer on Opening Day -- but there were far more cases of keeping a player in the minors to buy the extra year. Kris Bryant, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and others were all called to the majors just when they'd spent enough time in the minors to give their clubs an extra year of control. There was nothing inherently nefarious about the gambit; teams were operating within the collectively bargained rules and making business decisions.
The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement sought to implement some real incentives for teams to bring their best players north to begin the season, however, and by and large they've been effective. With the Prospect Promotion Incentives (PPI), any prospect who appears on two recognized top-100 lists and is called up early enough to earn a full service year can net his team a bonus draft pick, either in that season's Rookie of the Year voting or in MVP/Cy Young voting over the next three seasons.
There's also a disincentive to holding a player down. For those same qualified top prospects, a top-two finish in either league's Rookie of the Year voting will net a full year of major league service time, regardless of when they were called up. Said prospects still have around 90% of a season in such instances, which is more than enough time to turn in a ROY-worthy performance.
Teams now know that holding a player down for 15 days or so might lead to him getting a full year of service anyhow and comes with the disadvantage of rendering that player ineligible for future PPI picks. As such, it's become increasingly common for touted prospects to break camp on their teams' rosters.
With that in mind, and with fewer than two weeks to go until Opening Day, it seems worth running through a slate of top prospects who could factor into their teams' Opening Day plans.
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Cardinals Notes: Nootbaar, Baez, Catcher
Lars Nootbaar still hasn’t played this spring as he works back from heel surgeries. Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat noted yesterday that the left fielder is trending towards beginning the season on the injured list. There’s no clear timetable for his season debut.
An injured list stint has been a possibility since the Cardinals announced that Nootbaar had surgery to address Haglund’s deformities on both heels in early October. The health uncertainty seemingly took the outfielder off the trade block over the winter. Nootbaar was loosely tied to the Rangers, Mets and Pirates at points throughout the offseason. There was too much uncertainty in his health outlook for the Cardinals to net a strong enough return to move him.
The Cardinals have two years of arbitration control over Nootbaar. The lefty hitter posted above-average offensive numbers over his first three and a half MLB seasons. He had a career-worst .234/.325/.361 showing across 583 plate appearances last year. Nootbaar is making $5.35MM this season and seems likely to be available at the deadline as long as he’s healthy.
Nootbaar’s injury leaves the Opening Day left field job available. The Cardinals were in the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder late in the offseason but didn’t come away with any MLB additions. They signed Nelson Velázquez to a minor league deal. He’s mashing at a .333/.440/.524 clip with four walks and two strikeouts in 25 plate appearances this spring. They’re also getting utility infielders Thomas Saggese and José Fermín outfield work in camp. One of those players could split time with lefty-hitting Nathan Church as a stopgap left field platoon.
One idea not under consideration: carrying highly-regarded outfield prospect Joshua Báez on the Opening Day roster. The Cardinals optioned the 22-year-old to Triple-A Memphis yesterday. Báez had an excellent camp, slugging three homers while going 7-21 in 10 games. Báez has no Triple-A experience, though, so it’s hardly a surprise that he’ll begin the season in the minors.
A former second-round pick, Báez floundered early in his minor league career. He firmly put himself back on the prospect radar last season. Báez combined for a .287/.384/.500 slash with 20 homers between High-A and Double-A. Even more impressively, he cut his strikeout rate to a league average 21.4% clip after fanning in more than 34% of his plate appearances in his first three professional seasons. He’ll look to follow up his impressive Spring Training by maintaining that improved contact rate in his first look at Triple-A pitching.
St. Louis also optioned catching prospects Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal over the weekend. That leaves Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo as the three catchers on the 40-man roster who remain in camp. Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the team intends to carry all three on the Opening Day roster. Pages will be the primary option behind the dish, while Pozo will work in a traditional backup role. Herrera will continue seeing more time as a designated hitter than at catcher, though the Cardinals aren’t moving him off the position entirely.
Cardinals Extend Oli Marmol
The Cardinals and manager Oli Marmol have agreed to a two-year contract extension, according to a report from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Marmol was entering the final year of his contract but is now set to remain in St. Louis for the 2027 and ’28 seasons, with a club option for 2029. The Cardinals have subsequently announced Marmol’s new deal.
It’s the second extension Marmol has signed with the Cardinals. The 39-year-old initially took over as manager in St. Louis following Mike Shildt’s dismissal in October of 2021. Marmol’s first season as manager saw the Cardinals romp to a division title with a 93-win season thanks primarily to MVP-caliber performances from both Paul Goldschmidt (who won the award in the NL) and Nolan Arenado (who finished third). Unfortunately, the Cardinals were delivered a quick exit by the Phillies in the Wild Card round that year and went home that October without winning a single playoff game.
The end of the 2022 campaign also marked the end of longtime franchise face Yadier Molina‘s playing career, and Molina’s departure ushered in a transitory period in Cardinals baseball. While the club added an impactful bat behind the plate in Willson Contreras, pitchers in St. Louis struggled to adapt to life after getting so used to working with the nine-time Gold Glover. Meanwhile, both Goldschmidt and Arenado regressed in a big way, and injuries to key players like Brendan Donovan and Tyler O’Neill left the Cardinals tumbling from the top of the NL Central all the way to the bottom with a 91-loss campaign. 2024 saw the franchise get just barely back over .500 with an 83-79 record that left them tied for second place in the NL Central standings, but the team fell right back below .500 in 2025.
Difficult as Marmol’s tenure in St. Louis has been, management and ownership clearly do not lay the organization’s struggles at his feet. They signed him to a two-year extension prior to the 2024 campaign, and even after John Mozeliak retired and new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom took over, both Bloom and team ownership have expressed confidence in Marmol in the run-up to today’s extension.
It’s understandable why the team would choose to stick with Marmol despite a lack of on-field success. The Cardinals have saddled Marmol with a stagnant and aging roster for the majority of his time with the organization. Outside of deals for Contreras and Sonny Gray (both traded to the Red Sox this offseason), St. Louis has made relatively minimal efforts to improve the roster via trades and free agency in recent years, instead banking on internal developments that haven’t come to fruition. That lack of internal development has been attributed to the organization by the team’s decision to reallocate funds that once were used for player development into fortifying the big league payroll, and over the past two years the team has started to move towards a rebuilding phase where they plan to scale back spending and return their focus to building from within.
Given the current state of the organization, it’s understandable that the Cardinals would look to keep someone they had enough confidence in to install as MLB’s youngest manager at the time of his hire. Now headed into his fifth season as a big league manager (with a decade of coaching experience prior to that), Marmol has plenty of experience handling young players and veterans alike. His work with last year’s Cardinals team, which lacked the win-now expectations of most seasons in St. Louis, will surely prove informative for the difficult task of rebuilding into a contender that the organization now faces.
Poll: Will JJ Wetherholt Break Camp With The Cardinals?
Rebuilds are never fun, and as the Cardinals plunge into one for the first time in decades there hasn’t been much for fans in St. Louis to get excited about. Trades that shipped out Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Nolan Arenado were as much about clearing money off the books as they were about bringing in meaningful talent. Even the Brendan Donovan trade, which secured a strong haul of picks and prospects, is unlikely to impact the big league club in 2026. One thing fans can get excited about in the short term is top prospect JJ Wetherholt.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 draft has made good on that lofty slot since entering pro ball. After a solid cup of coffee at Single-A in his draft year, Wetherholt’s performance exploded in 2025 when he slashed .306/.421/.510 across 109 games split between the Double-A and Triple-A level. That would be impressive for virtually any prospect, but it’s especially so for Wetherholt, who is just 22 years old and adds strong infield defense and impressive baserunning to his well-rounded game. That package is enough to make him a consensus top 10 prospect in the sport entering this season.
The Cardinals have made clear that they plan to give their top prospect the opportunity to make the big league roster out of camp. He just ripped his first homer of the spring this morning, taking Devin Williams deep to dead center (video courtesy of Tim Kanak). A spot in the Opening Day lineup should be much easier to come by now that Donovan has been dealt to Seattle, but Wetherholt will still have competition from other players on the roster. Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn figure to lock down third base and shortstop, leaving second base to a competition between Wetherholt, Thomas Saggese, Jose Fermin, and Ramon Urias.
Since the Cardinals don’t expect to compete in 2026, their priority is seeing what they have with their current group of young players. Urias, 32 in June, is on a one-year deal and is more of a steady bench piece than an impact addition. From St. Louis’ perspective, it makes more sense to have Urias waiting in the wings to take over somewhere on the infield in case of an injury or a younger player struggling to perform. Looking at the other three options, Wetherholt is the highest-upside option and arguably has the highest floor.
Fermin hit quite well for the Cardinals in 30 games last year but has typically struggled on the offense over his three years in the majors. He seems best suited for a utility role. Saggese, 24 in April, hit just .258/.299/.342 in 82 games last year while playing average defense between shortstop, third base, and second base. Perhaps he could take a step forward with regular at bats and some additional big league experience, but his chances at making the roster are complicated by the fact that he was at his worst defensively (-5 OAA) when playing second base.
That would seem to leave Wetherholt with a clear path toward starting at second base for the Cardinals, but there are other considerations to keep in mind. If Wetherholt does not begin the year on the Opening Day roster, the Cardinals could squeeze and extra year of service time out of their up-and-coming superstar. Perhaps that’s enough reason for the Cardinals to go with someone like Saggese at second base for the first few weeks, especially given the fact that Wetherholt has spent just 16.6% of his defensive innings in the minors at second base. It could be argued that getting him additional reps at the keystone could be beneficial. On the other hand, Wetherholt could earn a full year of service time regardless, if he finishes top two in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Breaking camp with him also opens the Cards up to earning future draft picks via MLB’s prospect promotion incentive program.
How do MLBTR readers expect the Cardinals to handle their second base camp battle? Will Wetherholt force his way onto the big league roster? Will they instead give someone like Saggese or Fermin the first look? Or will none of the three youngsters take the job confidently enough to stop St. Louis from defaulting to the veteran presence of Urias? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will start at second base for the Cardinals on Opening Day 2026?
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JJ Wetherholt 71% (2,890)
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Ramon Urias 13% (538)
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Thomas Saggese 12% (494)
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Jose Fermin 4% (148)
Total votes: 4,070
Twins Claim Zak Kent
The Twins announced Thursday that they’ve claimed righty Zak Kent off waivers from the Cardinals, who’d designated him for assignment a few days ago. Righty Pablo López, who underwent an internal brace procedure yesterday and will miss the entire 2026 season, was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Kent joins his third team since spring training opened and his fourth of the offseason. The 28-year-old (as of Tuesday) finished the 2025 campaign on the Guardians’ roster but has since bounced to the Cardinals, Rangers, back to the Cardinals, and now to the Twins following a series of DFAs. There’s fortunately no cross-country journey for him this time around, as the Twins and Cardinals both play their spring games in Florida’s Grapefruit League.
The 2025 season saw Kent make his big league debut with Cleveland, tossing 17 2/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Most of his season was spent with the Guardians’ top affiliate in Columbus, where Kent notched a 2.84 ERA and set down a gaudy 31.4% of his opponents on strikes — albeit against an ugly 13.2% walk rate. Kent isn’t an especially hard thrower, sitting 93.1 mph with his four-seamer in 2025, but he missed plenty of bats in the upper minors thanks to the quality of his mid-80s slider and low-80s curveball.
Kent is entering his final minor league option year. He’s actually already exhausted the standard three option years allotted to players, but teams can be granted fourth option years based on a player’s minor league injury history and/or the speed with which they burn through those original option years. He’ll give the Twins another option to consider in a wide-open bullpen mix that has only Cole Sands, Anthony Banda, Taylor Rogers and Justin Topa locked into spots. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Kent carries a 3.74 ERA, a 26% strikeout rate and a 12% walk rate.
Cardinals Designate Zak Kent For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated right-hander Zak Kent for assignment, the team announced. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Ramon Urias, who agreed to a one-year deal. St. Louis claimed Kent off waivers from the Rangers earlier this week.
It’s been a whirlwind offseason for Kent, with the Cardinals at the center of it. The club picked him up off waivers from the Guardians back in December. After about a month in the organization, he lost his spot when St. Louis landed left-hander Justin Bruihl. The Rangers claimed Kent, but bumped him off the roster when they signed left-hander Jordan Montgomery. Kent’s most recent stint with the Cardinals lasted just five days.
The 27-year-old had an unremarkable debut with Cleveland this past season. He pitched to a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings. Kent showed a three-pitch arsenal in his 12 appearances, throwing each of his four-seamer, slider, and curveball at least 25% of the time. The righty used the slider on nearly 40% of his offerings. It held opponents to a .138 batting average. The slider was also his best whiff pitch.
It’s likely the Triple-A numbers that have teams intrigued by Kent. He has a career 3.74 ERA in 122 2/3 innings at the level. Kent posted back-to-back seasons with a K/9 above 11 at Columbus. He had a sub-3.00 ERA with a 31.4% strikeout rate in 34 appearances with the Clippers in 2025.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Cardinals Sign Ramón Urías
The Cardinals announced the signing of infielder Ramón Urías to a one-year contract. The Wasserman client is reportedly guaranteed $2MM. He’ll receive a $1.5MM salary and is guaranteed a $500K buyout on a 2027 mutual option valued at $4MM.
The infielder can earn an additional $2MM in performances bonuses: $125K apiece for 350 and 375 plate appearances; $200K each at 400 and 425 PAs; $250K at 450, 475 and 500 PAs; and $300K apiece at 525 and 550 plate appearances. St. Louis designated Zak Kent for assignment to create roster space.
Urías, 32 in June, has been a solid multi-positional player for the past six big league seasons. Most of that time was spent with the Orioles, though he was traded to the Astros at last year’s deadline. He has stepped to the plate 1,856 times in the majors, roughly three full seasons’ worth, and hit 50 home runs in that time. His .257/.321/.403 batting line translates to a 104 wRC+, indicating he’s been 4% above average on the whole.
His defense is even stronger than his offense. He has mostly played third base but has also spent some time at the other infield positions. He’s probably stretched as a shortstop but he has received strong reviews for his work at the hot corner. He won the American League Gold Glove at that position in 2022, getting credited with 14 Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average. For what it’s worth, in the years since, DRS still views him as a positive defender but OAA has him below par. His work at the keystone is well regarded, with 11 DRS and 2 OAA. He has fewer than 100 innings at first base.
He is coming off a down year at the plate. Between the O’s and the ‘Stros, he slashed .241/.292/.384 for an 87 wRC+. Houston could have retained him via arbitration for 2026, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $4.4MM salary, but they decided to non-tender him instead.
For St. Louis, Urías should backfill some of their missing infield depth. The Cards are rebuilding and traded away Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras this winter. Those moves both saved money and also freed up playing time for some younger players the organization would like to get a look at.
On the dirt, they project to have Masyn Winn at short and Alec Burleson at first, with the other two positions a bit more open. Nolan Gorman seems likely to take over the third base job but also has lots of experience at second. JJ Wetherholt could get the second base gig but he hasn’t yet cracked the major leagues.
Behind those leading candidates, the Cards also have José Fermín, Thomas Saggese, Bryan Torres and César Prieto on the 40-man roster. No one in that group has more than 100 big league games played. All of them except for Fermín have options, so perhaps the club would prefer them to get regular playing time in the minors if they don’t have regular big league jobs. Gorman also has options and is coming off two rough years at the plate.
When dealing with a group of fairly unproven guys, some will perform and some will not. On top of that, injuries are inevitable. Urías is coming off a down year at the plate but is a fairly reliable veteran who could step in to cover for some of the other guys, if necessary. If he’s on the roster and playing well in the summer, he would be a logical trade candidate for the rebuilding club.
Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat first reported the Cardinals were nearing a deal with Urías. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the sides agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal with a $500K buyout on a mutual option. The Associated Press reported the option value and the bonus specifics.
Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images
Orioles Claim Bryan Ramos
2:36pm: The Orioles have formally announced the Ramos waiver claim. Bautista was indeed moved to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster, which remains at capacity.
12:50pm: The Orioles have acquired infielder Bryan Ramos from the Cardinals, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. This is a waiver claim and not a trade, reports Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. The Cards designated Ramos for assignment earlier this week when they claimed Zak Kent off waivers. Baltimore will need to open a 40-man roster spot but could easily do so by moving Félix Bautista to the 60-day injured list, since he is slated to miss most of the upcoming season.
This is the second time this month that the O’s have acquired Ramos. The White Sox designated him for assignment in late January and Baltimore sent cash considerations to Chicago to get him on February 1st. Five days later, the Orioles tried to pass Ramos through waivers but the Cards claimed him.
It may seem odd to trade for a player and put him on waivers almost immediately but the Orioles are the most aggressive club in trying to pass players through waivers to keep them as non-roster depth. There’s no 60-day injured list from five days after the World Series until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, so the O’s tried to get him through before other teams got some extra roster spots. The Cards intervened but now the Orioles have grabbed Ramos a second time.
When Ramos was first on the Baltimore roster, his path to playing time with the O’s wasn’t great. He has primarily been a third baseman in his career, with a bit of experience at second base, first base and left field as well. Baltimore’s infield was slated to include Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday and Pete Alonso from left to right, with several corner outfielders on the roster as well. The O’s acquired Blaze Alexander in early February to serve as depth all over.
But the infield has quickly taken a few significant blows in the early days of spring training. Holliday suffered a hamate fracture and will start the season on the injured list. Westburg has a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. He is trying to avoid surgery for now but is going to miss time regardless and could still end up under the knife in the future.
With those injuries, half the infield is now up in the air. Coby Mayo may ultimately take over the third base job but his defense there has been questionable enough that he spent more time at first base last year. Alexander could move from a bench role into the regular second base job while Holliday is out.
Ramos is out of options. He could perhaps give the O’s a bit of extra infield depth on the bench while they sort out the injury situation. They could also bring in further reinforcements and squeeze Ramos to the waiver wire again in the future. For now, he has a roster spot and is in the mix for a big league bench job alongside Jeremiah Jackson and non-roster invitees like Jose Barrero and Luis Vázquez.
During his time with the White Sox, Ramos was a notable prospect. Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he slashed .265/.346/.453 on the farm for 116 wRC+, getting as high as Double-A. But his stock has dipped since then. He hit .228/.314/.392 in the minors over the past two years, mostly at Triple-A, with that performance translating to an 82 wRC+. He has also produced a tepid .198/.244/.333 line in his major league plate appearances.
Ramos has exhausted his option status, so his recent struggles have pushed him to a fringe roster position. If he can carve out a role in Baltimore’s injury-battered infield, he can be controlled for six full seasons before reaching free agency.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images