John Mozeliak pours cold water on Cardinals' potential promotion of JJ Wetherholt

The St. Louis Cardinals are barely clinging to the outskirts of playoff contention, and many fans have already given up the ghost for the team in 2025. But one aspect of the team that fans may have been looking forward to in September is the potential promotion of one of the top prospects in baseball, infielder JJ Wetherholt.

Unfortunately for those fans, Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak may be ruining the fun yet again.

Mozeliak appears reluctant to promote Wetherholt when rosters expand.

During an interview in "The Morning After" on St. Louis sports radio station 101 ESPN, Mozeliak spoke about the possibility of the Cardinals promoting Wetherholt from Triple-A Memphis when rosters expand at the beginning of September.

"It's not the protection year, so I think it's not necessarily in the best interest for the organization to do that. Even though it might be fun and exciting, you're not forced to put them on the roster this offseason, and so that's definitely something that should be a part of the equation."

John Mozeliak

Mozeliak was referring to the fact that Wetherholt does not yet need to be on the Cardinals' 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. That would come in 2028, but given his torrid pace through the minor leagues, he should be a pivotal piece in St. Louis long before that.

If Mozeliak's words prove truthful, it would be a disappointing conclusion to the season and perhaps a foolish decision. The Cardinals have a cake walk of a schedule for the remainder of August, which could see them making a push for the final Wild Card spot. However, their matchups get far more difficult come September, and with third baseman Nolan Arenado out for a still-unknown period of time, the Cardinals could desperately use a defensive upgrade at the hot corner from Nolan Gorman. Even if Wetherholt were not the one to play third base, a position he hasn't manned since his freshman year of college, the flexibility of an extra roster spot could allow Brendan Donovan or Thomas Saggese to play there more often if Arenado remains sidelined.

Promoting Wetherholt in September would not exhaust his rookie eligibility for 2026, as he would not clear 45 days of service time and the Cardinals would be unlikely to provide him with the 130 at-bats needed to surpass the mark to break his rookie status. An ascent to St. Louis would be a good taste-test for Wetherholt, allowing him some time to get acclimated to the league and potentially push for the coveted Rookie of the Year award, which now comes with the Prospect Promotion Incentive that would provide the Cardinals with another draft pick were he to win it.

It's unclear how much of a role Mozeliak still plays in the team's decisions following the trade deadline, and if Wetherholt were to be promoted in September despite Mozeliak's suggestion to the contrary, it might signal a changing of the guard to Chaim Bloom, his successor. Fans have been eager for the transfer of power from Mozeliak to Bloom, and an elevation of Wetherholt to the major leagues would certainly give Bloom some brownie points among fans.

Mozeliak's statement about Wetherholt's unlikely promotion is a bitter pill to swallow, but a surprise September appearance from the hyped prospect isn't out of the question if Bloom is the one pulling the strings. But even if Wetherholt doesn't see the field in 2025, fans should be excited about what he can bring in the years to come.