Last season's trade acquisition looks to power his way into the Cardinals' plans

The World Baseball Classic is here, and that means that plenty of St. Louis Cardinals players will be heading out of Jupiter to meet with their respective countries as the tournament gets underway. Missing as many players as the Cardinals are could be seen as a negative, as the organization looks to sort through the young guys and round out their major league roster. For the players, though, bodies missing from camp breeds opportunities.

Blaze Jordan looks to make an impact during Spring Training.

At least year's trade deadline, the Cardinals did what was necessary and unloaded their expiring contracts in the hopes of landing lottery tickets for the future. Chaim Bloom traded Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, and Steven Matz and grabbed prospects with wide ranges of outcomes. He grabbed major league talent in Hunter Dobbins and Richard Fitts and lower-level risky pitchers like Brandon Clarke, but in the Matz deal, he was able to pry first base power prospect Blaze Jordan from Boston.

When the Cardinals struck a deal for Jordan, he was in the middle of a very consistent minor league career, with a .291 career batting average and 55 home runs in nearly 450 minor league games. His OPS was comfortably in the .800s as he built off of his raw power we saw as a high schooler crushing 500-foot homers. That power was developing steadily as he progressed through the lower levels of Boston's system, and his 2025 season with Worcester looked like Jordan was on the cusp of a call-up.

At the time of the trade, Blaze had a .308 average with 12 homers and 62 RBIs in 88 games spread evenly between AA and AAA. When he arrived to Memphis, though, that change of scenery seemed to have an impact on Jordan's season. In 41 games with his new team, Jordan's batting average dipped to .198, and he struck out more times and walked less often than he did while in Boston's system. He did maintain his power, hitting seven more homers and driving in 37 despite the lower peripheral numbers. That downturn when he arrived in Memphis could have played a role in the Cardinals' decision to leave Jordan off of the 40-man roster this offseason, a move I saw as risky due to his solid minor league track record and the lack of depth at first base in the organization.

The risk was worth it, apparently, as other teams passed up on Blaze on waivers and allowed him to stay with the St. Louis organization, who then awarded him with a non-roster invite to big league camp. I have chosen Jordan as my player to watch this spring and early into the season because I believe in his approach at the plate as well as not facing much competition for at-bats at first base, especially with Alec Burleson being the starter and a lefty hitter who could also play the outfield. Jordan also has spent time each season playing third base and has graded as a passable defender. Jordan's ability to get back to his consistent approach at the plate and possibly show he can play both positions decent enough could at least create some buzz around his potential to be added to the big league roster at some point this season.

If that were to happen, a 40-man move would need to be made, and such a transaction would likely only happen if Jordan were to be in a position for semi-regular major league at-bats. That type of move would really only occur due to injury, based on how the roster is currently set up. Nolan Gorman figures to be the starting third baseman, but if his defense regresses but he can be a productive hitter, a move across the diamond could be in store for Gorman. Designated hitter is also a possibility, as the Cardinals need to find someone to get them out of their power outage in the lineup.

What I do like about Jordan this spring is that he is among the team leaders in games played and plate appearances. While he is still searching for his first hit of the exhibition season, Blaze Jordan figures to get plenty of opportunity to face off against major league pitching, especially when the clubhouse clears a bit for the World Baseball Classic.