Reason behind potential reluctance of Cardinals to promote JJ Wetherholt, despite user's hopes and expectations.
St. Louis Cardinals Face 40-Man Roster Challenges Ahead of JJ Wetherholt's Promotion
The St. Louis Cardinals, currently navigating a playoff race and an unsettled second base situation, could face challenging decisions regarding their 40-man roster in the coming months, particularly with the looming promotion of top prospect JJ Wetherholt.
Wetherholt, who slugged his fifth Triple-A home run tonight, has shown impressive offensive growth and is trending toward the majors. However, the team must carefully balance his readiness with the existing roster needs.
The overall 40-man roster could be tight due to the need to protect other key players and top prospects, such as pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, from the Rule 5 Draft. This creates competition for roster spots.
Moreover, Wetherholt is not especially defensively strong in shortstop and might be better suited to second base next to Masyn Winn, who is already on the roster. This positional consideration affects how the team evaluates opening a roster spot for him.
The organizational depth chart, with several infielders and outfielders currently on the 40-man roster—including players like Brendan Donovan and Masyn Winn—may complicate the timing and likelihood of Wetherholt's promotion.
Despite these challenges, Wetherholt's current slash stats for Memphis—.333/.391/.762, equating to a 1.153 OPS—indicate his readiness for the major leagues. However, the roster crunch could delay his debut with the Cardinals.
The Cardinals may need to make difficult decisions regarding their current 40-man roster to make room for Wetherholt's addition. Players such as Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, Steven Matz, Roddery Munoz, Miles Mikolas, and Garrett Hampson could potentially be removed to make room for the new additions.
If the Cardinals prioritize Wetherholt's development, he could be set up for success in 2026. He is a special talent and one they have not had in the organization in a long time. However, the roster crunch could delay his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Multiple prospect rankings now have Wetherholt within the top 15 or top 10 prospects in all of baseball. Protecting these prospects from the Rule 5 draft could take up 8 spots on the Cardinals' 40-man roster.
The Cardinals may struggle to find roster space for Wetherholt due to the need to clear spots for Rule 5 draft protections. The team must carefully navigate these issues to integrate him without jeopardizing roster flexibility or hurting team competitiveness.
The Cardinals may not have flexibility to add any prospects they acquire at this deadline or players/prospects that Chaim Bloom may want to target in the offseason due to the roster crunch. The team needs to determine the future of several players on their 40-man roster for this offseason.
In 73 games between Double-A and Triple-A prior to tonight, Wetherholt was slashing .306/.421/.513 on the year, a testament to his consistent offensive performance. As the Cardinals move closer to making a decision on Wetherholt's promotion, fans eagerly await his potential debut, whether it be a few weeks from now or in 2026.
The upcoming promotion of top prospect JJ Wetherholt, who has been dominating in Triple-A baseball, may require the St. Louis Cardinals to reconsider their roster, as they navigate protective measures for other key players and prospects, such as pitcher Cooper Hjerpe, which could create competition for spots.
Despite the challenges of roster management and potential delays, with the looming Rule 5 Draft and position considerations, Wetherholt's impressive statistics, ranking him within the top 10 prospects in all of Major League Baseball, indicate his impending readiness for the major leagues.
