September roster expansion gives the Cardinals the chance to audition 2 players for the future

The St. Louis Cardinals have an upcoming stretch that, on paper, should be easier than the gauntlets they have faced in the season's second half. With 18 of the next 21 games against opponents currently below .500, the Cardinals could string fans along with the hopes of a postseason appearance into September.

Once September does show up on the calendar, the Cardinals should no longer have an excuse as to why they continue to play shorthanded in the bullpen and in the lineup. With Masyn Winn ailing and the pitching staff taking a massive hit in the past week, manager Oliver Marmol has had to piecemeal his roster together just to get through a 20-game stretch. At the beginning of next week, the Cardinals will be able to promote one pitcher and one position player as MLB's expanded rosters come into play.

Cardinals have depth options ready and waiting to support a broken-down roster through the season's final month

As the Cardinals open up the last week of August against the Baltimore Orioles, they do so sitting at .500 despite the offseason projections having them finish as one of the worst teams in baseball. The postseason may still be a pipe dream, but the fact we have had hope of October baseball this far into the season has to be a step in the right direction. Since the Cardinals may be watching the playoffs from home, the front office can and should use the last month of the season to continue their fact-finding mission about some of their players sitting in Memphis.

Starting with the pitching, the Cardinals saw their injury luck run out in a big way in August. Hunter Dobbins is likely out for the year and Andre Pallante is on the shelf with a minor issue, while Marmol is managing Kyle Leahy's workload as a starter. Along with the struggling Matthew Liberatore and prospect Quinn Mathews, the rotation has their work cut out for them to get through the season's final 30+ games.

To help support the overworked arms, the rehabbing Cooper Hjerpe should be one of the first names on the list for September call-ups. Besides the fact he is already on the 40-man roster, Hjerpe has been solid in his return from an arm injury during his time in the minors. Since returning, the quirkly lefty has 55 strikeouts in just 38 innings and allowed a total of 18 hits. He has started 14 games and each outing has been four innings or less, similar to what Leahy has done recently. With both Hjerpe and Leahy looking to preserve innings, they could easily form a piggyback for the final four or so starts for the year.

If Hjerpe is locked into the minors in order to keep him healthy, then Cade Winquest and Brycen Mautz could also be promotion options, though both have been working strictly out of the bullpen. For starting rotation help, the Cardinals could give Pete Hansen, Mason Molina, or Jurrangelo Cijntje a taste of the bigs, but each player would have to be added to the 40-man roster and has not been performing well of late. Cijntje has been the best of the group but is also over 100 innings on the year and could be on a pitch count.

Regarding the offense, the lineup has had runs of top production and, more recently, plenty of dry spells in the run column. The Cardinals' top four hitters have been mostly the same all season and have shown what we can expect from them as the season winds down. With the entire lineup, minus Ramon Urias, well under the age of 30, clearing out the spot for a prospect runway is more difficult than on the mound.

Because of this, I am picturing the Cardinals using the expanded position player spot as a chance to get one of their former big leaguers back on the field to see how Memphis fixed their approach. There is little preference for me in who should come first, but either of Victor Scott II and Thomas Saggese should be on the team's radar for September. None of the duo have dazzled since being in Triple-A, but neither have the replacements on the big league roster.

Scott's speed remains his best asset, and he has unleashed the wheels recently in Memphis, but he still has to get on base more consistently. Saggese is the youngest with the least experience, so he is less of a rush to promote, but his versatility and minor league track record suggest there is more in the tank.

Whichever pitcher is promoted when rosters expand will have the quickest chance to make an impression on the big league staff but may also be the easiest to replace as the month goes on. The starting lineup will not see much of a difference no matter who is promoted, but Marmol will do his best to provide the opportunities for each player to work their way into the conversation for the 2027 roster.

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