Cardinals Give Super Utility Man Unexpected First Base Start

Apr 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; a detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hat with a patch honoring Jackie Robinson during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Busch Stadium. Players and coaches are wearing number 42 in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Cardinals Give Super Utility Man Unexpected First Base Start

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated May 14, 2026 3:00 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The St. Louis Cardinals are set to finish a three-game series with the Athletics on Thursday as they look to win yet another series. They came into Thursday's series finale with a 24-18 record and sat just 2 1/2 games back of first place in the National League Central.

2026 is a rebuilding year for the Cardinals, or at least it was meant to be. That means that manager Oli Marmol can try a lot of different things just to get a feel for what his club is going to look like in the next few years.

In fact, he did something expected with his lineup on Thursday, starting someone new at first base instead of Alec Burleson, which is a bit of a first, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat.

"José Fermín has never appeared in a game at first base in his professional career prior to today’s scheduled start there," Jones posted on X. "That’ll leave just the battery spots for him to cross off."

Jose Fermin gets nod at first base

David Dermer-Imagn Images

Burleson has been playing a lot lately, so it's no surprise that for the series finale in Sacramento, he is getting a day to rest. However, this is a first for Fermin.

The super utility man can play all three outfield positions and has also played the other three infield positions, but first base is a new spot for him. However, this certainly doesn't hurt the Cardinals. It's good to have players who can play multiple positions, as well as several options at each position.

Now, the Cardinals have more depth at the first base position, and another right-handed option in case Burleson needs another day off or the Cardinals want to use him as their designated hitter.

The 27-year-old has actually put together a solid season for St. Louis off the bench, hitting .268/.340/.415 with a home run, seven RBI and a .755 OPS. He even had the game-winning hit in the opener of their last series with the Pittsburgh Pirates back in April.

The Cardinals are going through a transition, but having players like Fermin that can play multiple positions helps, and now that he can check first base off the list of positions he has not played, the Cardinals have multiple options at that spot in the event that something happens to Burleson.

It will be interesting to see how he performs at his new spot.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: