Another frigid day in downtown St. Louis, but the buzz continues around the young group for the St. Louis Cardinals.
New Cardinal Dustin May expressed his excitement for the upcoming season, especially with an oddly normal offseason for the 28-year-old right-hander. May has dealt with a plethora of injuries during his career, but after a healthy offseason, the Cardinals starter is looking forward to new beginnings in St. Louis.
Cardinals catching prospect Leonardo Bernal met with the media in the morning as well. Bernal, who won the Minor League Gold Glove at catcher last season, was eager to continue to work on his craft—specifically receiving the baseball. While Panama has yet to decide on his status for the World Baseball Classic, he would love to represent his home in the tournament this spring.
Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt was in town, and the buzz was following him all day. With Spring Training approaching and the national attention from being labelled as a Rookie of the Year contender in the preseason, the young infielder has made a focus to not be overwhelmed and affected by the outside noise.
Wetherholt was also hoping to join Team Korea for the WBC but will be unable, as he put it, “Unfortunately, I’m not Korean enough.” The Cardinals' top prospect explained that to be eligible to play for the Korean national team, a direct parent must be a citizen. As his grandmother is a citizen, not his father, he is ineligible this time around.
“I’m excited to, hopefully, stick at first base for a while,” Alec Burleson said today after being asked if he’d had a ceremonial burning of his outfield glove. While he said that he still has the glove and he’s ready to play out there if the team needs him to, he is excited for the prospect of sticking to one spot this season.
While the leadership of the young team is still up in the air and a lot of players are expected to make their debuts this season, Burleson said, “We can just point to Donnie and say go do what he does. Just do what he does, and you will be just fine.” Even though the Cardinals' lone 2025 All-Star’s future is still up in the air as trade talks swirl, they know that if he is around, Donovan can be a rock for the team and a leader in the clubhouse and on the field.
Two other pitchers are fidgeting with the change-ups as last season's Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Cardinals, Brycen Mautz, said that he was trying to add some depth to the pitch, while starter Andre Pallante was looking to add the kick change to his repertoire. Pallante would also express that one of his goals this offseason was to land more of his pitch arsenal other than his 4-seam fastball, for strikes consistently.
Jose Fermin and Thomas Saggese continue to refine their craft over the winter, with Fermin saying that he opted not play winter ball to build up some strength and add some power to his game.
Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III expressed their excitement to see the youth grow and build for the future. While neither had a clear definition of what the Cardinals will be defining success as this season, DeWitt Jr. said “Chaim (Bloom) and his group have really done a good job, we have a good young core, . . . so it’s exciting.”
DeWitt III also expressed the intention of a renovation project to take place at Busch Stadium III, but acknowledged that it would take time and believes that it will take place after the resolution of the stadium discussion in Kansas City.
As it comes to the impending Collective Bargaining Agreement after the conclusion of the 2026 season, DeWitt III believes that it is a key agreement this time around, with competitive balance being a major issue heading into the agreement.
Masyn Winn was excited to get back to work and wants to take pride in being a leader in the locker room, saying that “Me and him (Lars Nootbaar) are probably going to be the vocal leaders.” The Cardinals' shortstop also expressed his interest in being a Cardinal for life, saying that “I want to be here for my whole career.” While many have had to grow up fast, Winn looks to be up to the task this season.
The Cardinal shortstop has expressed his intention of being a more complete player this season by coming into his own at the plate and on the basepaths. I asked him if there would be any friendly competition between him and Cardinals speedster Victor Scott II. While he said that there wouldn’t be any competition, he would like to be within five stolen bases of Scott.
Scott II would also meet with the media, saying that his goal was 70 bases, and when asked if he thinks Winn could get within five, he said, “If he gets 65.”
Bloom and Oli Marmol expressed their excitement about Scott on Saturday, and it became clear why after hearing the process that Scott had in the offseason, going back to his alma mater, West Virginia, for a motion capture and to do some force plate testing. The young outfielder said that he was able to make his swing short and compact, allowing him to be more adjustable in the box and limiting the “pull across swing” that would result in ground balls to second base.
After a jam-packed weekend, the overall buzz around this team is that while they are young, this can be an important building block season for the future, and if things break right, they could be in a spot that has the team ahead of the perceived schedule.