Cardinals News: Walker on the mend, roster reshuffles, Spring Breakout update

The St. Louis Cardinals continue to trudge through spring training, holding an 8-10 record and praying that everyone emerges from the preseason in one piece.

Jordan Walker continues to progress from an injury he suffered earlier in spring training.

The Cardinals' spring appeared to come to a standstill on March 4 when right fielder Jordan Walker departed the game with a knee injury after tripping over a sprinkler head in the outfield. Many fans feared the worst, but Cardinals Nation audibly exhaled when it was revealed that Walker had not suffered any structural damage to his knee.

Walker is ramping up his level of activity as he recuperates from the injury. An STLToday article mentioned that he took part in a running progression stint on March 11 and is expected to involve lateral movements as the next step in his recovery.

Walker will be the subject of scrutiny from fans and the media after a poor showing in 2024. A fully healthy season from the team's former top prospect is integral in seeing whether the 22-year-old has improved in his approach at the plate under new hitting coach Brant Brown, whom Walker expressed enthusiasm to be able to learn from.

The Cardinals have reassigned JJ Wetherholt to the minor leagues.

The Cardinals have continued to trim their roster in spring, and they optioned 2024 first-round pick JJ Wetherholt to minor league camp on March 12. Wetherholt's failure to make the Opening Day roster shouldn't come as a surprise, as he will benefit from playing every day in the minor leagues instead of rotting on the bench in the majors.

Wetherholt managed only two hits in 20 at-bats in spring, although one of those hits was a home run. He stands a chance to run through the minors quickly and make the Cardinals roster down the line in 2025 given his more polished background from playing in college.

Joshua Baez is now a part of the Cardinals' Spring Breakout roster.

The Cardinals have also tweaked their Spring Breakout roster, adding outfielder Joshua Baez to the event for the second consecutive year. The Spring Breakout games are intended to showcase teams' top prospects, and the Cardinals are planning to feature 16 of MLB Pipeline's top 30 prospects for the team.

The 21-year-old Baez was the Cardinals' seventh-ranked prospect in 2022 by Baseball America, but he has struggled to make contact as a professional, striking out 308 times in 752 at-bats since 2021. He did finish 2024 on the right foot, lending hope that he can live up to his potential in 2025.

A lot will have to go right for the Cardinals to emerge as a surprise contender in 2025. A healthy and productive Walker will be paramount to their success, and if the team can make good on its pledge to fix its broken player development system, perhaps some other players, such as Wetherholt and Baez, will also emerge as significant pieces for the Cardinals in upcoming seasons.