Mar 5, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left feilder JJ Wetherholt (87) celebrates after scoring against the Houston Astros during the second inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images Rich Storry-Imagn Images

Cardinals Predicted To Make Head-Scratching JJ Wetherholt Decision

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals waved the white flag on the season at the trade deadline, when they traded away a trio of relievers. Phil Maton, Ryan Helsley, and Steven Matz were traded to the Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox, respectively.

These moves helped push the Cardinals forward, as it dumped off a trio of expiring contracts while adding in a package of young prospects. It looks like the start to a rebuild, which has fans eager for the Cardinals to call up their top prospect, JJ Wetherholt.

Wetherholt has been smashing Triple-A pitching, but the Cardinals haven't elevated him to the big leagues yet. At this point, it seems unlikely they will do so this season.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently put together lineup predictions for 2026 opening day. For the Cardinals, he had a lot of the same, which included Brendan Donovan in left field, Nolan Arenado at third base, and Nolan Gorman at second base. But with these three positions covered, Wetherholt was missing from the lineup projection.

JJ Wetherholt missing from Cardinals' projected 2026 lineup

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"The Cardinals were one of the toughest teams to nail down, with a lot of redundant pieces on their roster, which could lead to some offseason shuffling on the trade market," Reuter wrote. "Nolan Gorman has shown enough upside during the second half to get another look as an everyday player, but ideally that would come at designated hitter or an infield corner. Thomas Saggese is also a candidate for the second base job, along with versatile veteran Brendan Donovan, but expect the front office to unclog some of these logjams this winter."

It would be criminal if the Cardinals went into opening day next year with Wetherholt rotting away at the Triple-A level. Gorman has already shown that he struggles at the big league level. Wetherholt hasn't been given the chance.

Arenado has no business blocking such a young, talented prospect either. Arenado is being paid a lot, but that doesn't mean the Cardinals need to risk their top prospects' development to keep him happy and starting.

If the Cardinals don't call Wetherholt up to the big leagues by early next season, St. Louis could look worse than they already do.

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

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