Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt: Unlikely to be promoted this season

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The Cardinals are unlikely to promote Wetherholt from Triple-A Memphis this season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Wetherholt has established himself as one of the best prospects in baseball, having slashed .312/.424/.523 with 16 home runs, 21 stolen bases and a 66:65 K:BB over 99 games between Double-A Springfield and Memphis. While the 22-year-old looks ready to be challenged in the majors, Goold notes that the driving factor in keeping Wetherholt at Memphis is that he does not need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, and the Cardinals want to reserve those spots for players that are Rule 5 eligible. Even without a cup of coffee in the big leagues in 2025, Wetherholt still stands a chance of cracking the Opening Day roster in 2026. Wetherholt has mostly played shortstop in the minors, but he's also seen time at second and third base, and with Masyn Winn holding down shortstop for the Cardinals, Wetherholt's future is likely either at the keystone or the hot corner.