Cardinals begin tryouts for next season as rosters expand

Rather than building up the roster for a postseason run, the St. Louis Cardinals are using the September roster expansion to get a head start for next year. With the active roster increasing from 26 to 28 for the last month of the season, the Cardinals have promoted catcher Leo Bernal and pitcher Hancel Rincon as reinforcements.

With injuries mounting up, workload concerns, and another missed postseason on the horizon, the two promotions come as the future remains the focus. The 2027 season may look similar to what we saw on the field throughout the rollercoaster 2026 campaign, so the Cardinals are getting their roster evaluation started now. Chaim Bloom will likely be working with a limited payroll again next year and with only a few spots to fill in the lineup, promoting Bernal and Rincon gives the team a glimpse at who can be a factor in the future.

Leo Bernal could become the Cardinals' starting catcher while Hancel Rincon look to fix a broken bullpen

Of the two promotions, Bernal is the more exciting prospect with the biggest significance on the team's future. When he joins the team, the Cardinals #5 prospect will be the fourth catcher on the active roster, adding onto the room that already includes Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages with Jimmy Crooks being demoted. Pages has the most to lose as his playing time had already dwindled since Crooks' own promotion. Despite the love he receives from the pitching staff and coaches, Pages has done little in his third major league season.

Jimmy Crooks has had his own struggles in his second year in St. Louis as his swing-and-miss issues remained, and it came without the same power he demonstrated in Memphis this year. His defense has also not been as anticipated, as Crooks has become a lefty version of Pages. The Bernal promotion could also begin the shift away from Ivan Herrera behind the plate, who has not been the same hitter he was last season while also being below-average with the glove.

The switch-hitting Bernal has consistently improved both parts of his game since becoming a pro and is putting up another above-average season with the bat after winning the Gold Glove award again. With rosters expanding, the Cardinals will not have to make a corresponding move and Bernal can learn from the veteran Pages in September games of little consequence before hopefully getting full run of the job next year.

Moving to Hancel Rincon, the 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic will be trying out for next year's bullpen while providing support to the always taxed relief corps. After bouncing around as a starter and reliever, Rincon has settled into a relief role and unlocked some better results as a full-time bullpen arm. In 73.2 minor league innings, the righty has used his mid-90s fastball and slider/changeup combination to put up a stellar 11.00 K/9 and a 1.25 WHIP. He has still walked plenty of hitters while allowing too many homers, but his arm could be a useful tool for next season.

Rincon has an ERA over 4.00 as the walks and homers contributed to that inflated number. He may struggle at the major league level as well, but he can use the projected bumps and bruises as a learning experience for next season. Rincon will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason and could still be selected if he is not kept on the 40-man roster after the year ends. The Cardinals hope that both Bernal and Rincon will remain key pieces moving into 2027 so they can use their limited resources to fill the roster holes elsewhere.

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