Who Will Make up St. Louis Cardinals 26-Man Roster?

· Yahoo Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals have less than a week before it begins the 2026 regular season against the Tampa Bay Rays on 3:15 p.m. CT on March 26 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

The Cardinals have gone full-steam ahead in their rebuilt efforts over the last year. As a result, they aren't expected to be in a position to contend for a playoff spot this year, but there's still several young, talented players within the organization who are likely to get a look at some point.

Visit xsportfeed.life for more information.

Here's an overview on who is predicted to make the roster according to FanGraphs' roster resource:

Starting rotation
  1. Matthew Liberatore, LHP
  2. Michael McGreevy, RHP
  3. Dustin May, RHP
  4. Kyle Leahy, RHP
  5. Andre Pallante, RHP
Bullpen
  • Long relief: Gordon Graceffo, RHP
  • Middle leverage: George Soriano, RHP
  • Middle leverage: Matt Pushard, RHP
  • Middle leverage: Justin Bruihl, LHP
  • Closer: Ryne Stanek, RHP
  • Closer: Matt Svanson, RHP
  • Closer: JoJo Romero, LHP
  • Closer: Riley O'Brien, RHP
Lineup
  1. JJ Wetherholt, LHH, 2B
  2. Mason Winn, RHH, SS
  3. Alec Burleson, LHH, 1B
  4. Ivan Herrera, RHH, DH
  5. Nolan Gorman, LHH, 3B
  6. Jordan Walker, RHH, RF
  7. Nelson Velazquez, RHH, LF
  8. Pedro Pages, RHH, C
  9. Victor Scott II, LHH, CF
Bench
  • Yohel Pozo, RHH, 1B/C
  • Ramon Urias, RHH, UTIL
  • Jose Fermin, RHH, UTIL
  • Nathan Church, LHH, OF
Notes

The lineup is projected to have multiple players who earned their jobs in spring training.

Wetherholt, the No. 5 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and St. Louis' first-round pick from the 2024 MLB Draft, entered this spring with legitimate major league aspirations for the first time in his pro career.

Wetherholt has put up a decent spring. He's slashed .226/.390/.419 with an .809 OPS in 14 Grapefruit League games and has hit two home runs with seven RBIs.

Velazquez might end being the feel-good story of the season for the Cardinals.

The 2017 fifth-round MLB draft pick signed a minor league contract with the team with a non-roster invite on Jan. 26. He was assigned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds upon signing but is now in a position where he's projected to make the team as a starting outfielder.

Velazquez has slashed .212/.286/.433 with a .719 OPS in 194 games with the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals.

This spring, Velazquez has a slash line of .333/.435/.667 with a 1.102 OPS in 14 Grapefruit League games. He's hit a double and four homers with 10 RBIs and has struck out just three times in 46 plate appearances.

Leahy is making his transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation this season. He's made five starts this spring and has posted a 4.58 ERA and has struck out 20 batters in 17.2 innings pitched.

Another hurler who made the transition from the bullpen to the rotation last season, Liberatore, will be the team's Opening Day starter. In 2025, Liberatore had a 4.21 ERA and recorded 122 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched across 29 starts. This spring, the southpaw has a 1.80 ERA to go with 19 fanned batters in 15 innings across four starts.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!

Read full story at source