Skip to main content

4 Cardinals prospects who should be promoted soon in wake of trade deadline exodus

More MLB debuts should be coming soon!
Mar 7, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA;  St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) hits a home run in the second inning against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Mar 7, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) hits a home run in the second inning against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals had a busy trade deadline, trading away Lars Nootbaar, Dustin May, and JoJo Romero to continue their rebuild under Chaim Bloom. This means there are spaces on the Cardinals' active roster and 40-man roster to fill, and we could see some prospects make their MLB debuts as a result.

We already saw Quinn Mathews make his debut this past weekend in anticipation of May being traded, but there are more prospects on the cusp of getting their shots as well.

Let's look at three different prospects who the Cardinals could call up soon to fill the roster.

OF Joshua Baez

The man, the myth, the legend. While there are still things Joshua Baez needs to work on to become the kind of hitter Cardinals fans believe he can be at the Major League level, I would be very surprised if we don't see him make his MLB debut soon.

Baez has torn the cover off the baseball this year, slashing .251/.324/.577 with 32 home runs and 83 RBI in 95 games played for the Memphis Redbirds. The swing-and-miss issues are still a real concern, especially with how frequently he gets beat by high heat. There's still plenty of development left in Baez's game, but getting a cup of coffee against big league pitching would allow him to see where those weaknesses are against big leaguers.

The Cardinals may wait a few weeks to call Baez up so he can maintain rookie eligibility for the 2027 season. It looks like the earliest the Cardinals could make that move then is on August 13th, which just so happens to come ahead of a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.

C Leonardo Bernal

While most of the attention has been on Baez this year, Leonardo Bernal has had an excellent year at Memphis, posting a .280/.364/.490 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI. He's proven all he can at Triple-A, and it makes sense to get him playing time with St. Louis to see how he handles the big league level.

Jimmy Crooks has started to heat up as of late, but Bernal has the higher upside as a prospect, projecting to be an above-average hitter with really good defense behind the plate. Finding how to fit in playing time for Bernal, Crooks, and Ivan Herrera may be a bit difficult, likely needing Pedro Pages to go to an even more reduced role to make it happen.

INF Ramon Mendoza

At 25 years old, Ramon Mendoza has been in the organization since 2018 and has been really good with Memphis this season, hitting .289/.373/.466 with eight home runs and 41 RBI. He can play all over the infield, and while he may not have much of a future with St. Louis, he is someone who could potentially carve out a really interesting reserve role with the Cardinals or someone else.

It may be worth giving Mendoza a shot to jump in with the Major League club and see what he can do. If he succeeds, he's a guy they could keep around long-term, and if not, then they know they can clear the way in Memphis for some young middle infield prospects coming up to Triple-A next year.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations