2 Cardinals prospects who could be called up once rosters expand in September

In the old days, teams throughout Major League Baseball could field a roster of 40 players in the majors once the calendar flipped to September. While the days of seeing every possible inch on the bench being filled are over, MLB teams are still able to bring up reinforcements for the final month of the year.

Rosters expand from 26 players to 28 men in September, so clubs will be able to call up two additional players for the final push. With minor-league seasons starting to wrap up in September, teams are willing to sacrifice minor-league success for major-league reinforcements.

Teams throughout the league use this expansion for many different reasons. Some clubs use it to give top prospects a taste of the majors. Other clubs use it to bring up long-time minor leaguers for debuts. Other clubs simply promote "the next man up" rather than making a flashy or sentimental promotion. Regardless, the extra two players are welcome on every roster.

The St. Louis Cardinals must balance 40-man roster space this year when making a decision. Following infielder Cesar Prieto's promotion on Thursday night and Jimmy Crooks's promotion on Friday, the 40-man roster is now full even with Zack Thompson being on the 60-day Injured List.

Having flexibility regarding the 40-man this winter should be a priority for Chaim Bloom. This will allow him to trim the roster, acquire players via the Rule 5 Draft, and add whichever prospects he sees as fitting, particularly those eligible for the Rule 5 Draft within the organization.

Bloom could jumpstart the 40-man offseason moves by adding an impending Rule 5 player, but he could also call up a player already on the 40-man who is performing well in the minors. One can assume that the club will add one pitcher and one position player.

With both Victor Scott II and Brendan Donovan set to return to the lineup in the next week or two, it's entirely possible we don't see a prospect be called up and the two spots are then instead filled by these two returning players. While that wouldn't be overly exciting, it would certainly be moves the Cardinals would make in order to preserve 40-man roster spots and play their best options — though keeping Garrett Hampson on the roster after those moves would certainly draw ire and questions from the fans.

For the fun of this exercise, let's pretend the Cardinals use these two extra spots to see what they have in a minor leaguer rather than simply going back to the status quo that has gotten them to a record around .500 all year.

Don't expect a flashy move with these September call-ups (sorry to all of the JJ Wetherholt fans out there). Instead, fans can expect a fringy move (are you tired of seeing those yet?) that beefs up the reinforcements without limiting Chaim Bloom's flexibility this winter.

These 2 Cardinals prospects are most likely to be called up when rosters expand in September.