St. Louis Cardinals provide Rule 5 shelter for these 4 prized prospects

With the 2025 World Series firmly in the rearview mirror and offseason moves ramping up, many St. Louis Cardinals fans were interested in seeing which young players the team will hitch its wagons to. As the Rule 5 draft looms in December, new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom carried out the team's first roster moves of the offseason in choosing whom to add to the Cardinals' 40-man roster in order to protect the players from being poached by another club.

The Cardinals added these four players to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.

The Cardinals had four empty spots on their 40-man roster, and they filled that precious space with outfielder Joshua Baez, catcher Leonardo Bernal, and pitchers Brycen Mautz and Cooper Hjerpe. To make room, the team placed Michael Siani, Roddery Munoz and Anthony Veneziano on waivers. The Cardinals also removed Zack Thompson from the 40-man roster and sent him to Memphis after originally announcing that he would be a free agent. The Cardinals also designated pitcher Jorge Alcala for assignment.

Baez broke out in 2025, hitting 20 home runs across High-A and Double-A and significantly cutting down on strikeouts. The right fielder could challenge Jordan Walker for playing time down the road if Walker continues to struggle.

Bernal is the next man up in the Cardinals' enviable crop of catching prospects. He is a strong defender with an excellent arm, throwing out 39% of attempted basestealers with Double-A Springfield in 2025. At the plate, Bernal hit .247 with a .726 OPS.

Mautz is a control-oriented left-hander who fit the John Mozeliak-era draft model that the Cardinals are looking to get away from, but his 2.98 ERA in Springfield in 2025 was too much for Bloom to ignore. Mautz could be a piece in the Cardinals' rotation during the team's next competitive window.

The most interesting addition is Hjerpe. Injuries have plagued the Cardinals' first-round pick in 2022, and with Tommy John surgery now shelving the pitcher until at least midway through next season, there were plenty of questions about whether the Cardinals believed Hjerpe could return to his pre-injury form. Clearly, they still have high hopes for the 24-year-old.

Two eyebrow-raising omissions from the Cardinals' 40-man roster are corner infielder Blaze Jordan and pitcher Pete Hansen. The Cardinals acquired Jordan at the 2025 trade deadline from the Boston Red Sox in the trade that sent Steven Matz to Boston. A former can't-miss prospect, Jordan has lost some of his sheen as his power has not materialized in the minor leagues as expected.

Hansen was MLB.com's pick for the Cardinals' toughest decision on whether to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The soft-tossing left-hander held a 3.93 ERA with Springfield in 2025, but with Mautz holding a similar profile to Hansen but owning a slightly higher ceiling, Bloom may have seen Hansen as unnecessary in the Cardinals' long-term plans.

An unenviable rebuild awaits the Cardinals in 2026, and Baez, Bernal, Hjerpe and Mautz will look to be the next set of key pieces as Bloom begins to construct the team's long path back to contention.