Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt: Returning to action Wednesday
Rotowire
Wetherholt will return to the lineup at Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday after missing five games with general soreness, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Woo writes that Wetherholt has been dealing with a "non-baseball ailment" but will be back in action at designated hitter Wednesday before returning to the field later this week. Wetherholt is slashing .309/.423/.519 with 16 home runs, 21 stolen bases and a 67:66 K:BB over 100 games this season between Double-A Springfield and Memphis. The top prospect is not expected to be promoted to the majors this month.
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Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt: Unlikely to be promoted this season
Rotowire
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.
Making his first professional start at third base, Wetherholt went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and three RBI in Sunday's game with Triple-A Memphis.
Wetherholt has been fantastic since his promotion to Memphis in early July, slashing .344/.425/.754 with six home runs, two stolen bases and an 8:9 K:BB over 73 plate appearances covering 16 games. The top prospect is sporting a .310/.425/.528 batting line with 13 long balls and 16 steals this season between Double-A Springfield and Memphis. The timing of Wetherholt's first pro start at the hot corner is interesting, given that Nolan Arenado (shoulder) landed on the 10-day injured list this past Friday and it's unclear when he might return. Wetherholt is pushing for a major-league debut during his first full pro season.
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