St. Louis Cardinals welcome cult hero back for spring training

The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of star power to look back on as one of the most successful franchises in baseball history, and plenty powerful denizens of teams past are returning to help the club in spring training. Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Ozzie Smith are all appearing at various times during spring to impart their sage advice on the young players, and those players should absorb all the wisdom of those legends.

But while the all-time greats dotting the Cardinals' landscape over the years are the headliners, no club's history would be complete without the players who might not have been all-time greats but were beloved in their city. For the Cardinals, one of those players has just arrived at spring training for the first time in 2026.

So Taguchi is a guest at Cardinals camp.

Taguchi, whom the team signed out of Japan in 2002, was the first signing of a Japanese-born player in Cardinals history. Taguchi was a fan favorite for his positive, upbeat disposition, and he provided a strong bat off of the bench for much of his time with the team. He earned regular playing time in 2005 after injuries to outfielder Reggie Sanders and Larry Walker, and Taguchi capitalized on the moment, hitting .288 with a .734 OPS. In the Cardinals' championship season of 2006, Taguchi, never considered a power threat, hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies, leading to a 9-6 victory.

It's not clear whether Taguchi is merely hanging out with the team at camp or if he is going to serve as a guest instructor, but Cardinals fans will be elated to hear that he is showing up regardless of his role.

Outside of Taguchi, the Cardinals are also welcoming Wainwright in as a guest instructor on March 17, and Molina will return to the team on March 19, according to KMOX's Tom Ackerman. Several Cardinals starters have displayed strong pitching metrics in spring, including Dustin May, Matthew Liberatore and Richard Fitts. Wainwright should provide another voice to help these pitchers reach the next level with their revamped stuff.

Although the Cardinals are unlikely to make much noise in the division this season, the deluge of former greats and much-admired players appearing in spring will only benefit the Cardinals going forward.