The Cardinals are entering a season of transition and the Opening Day roster will look a lot different in 2026. With St. Louis trading Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan, the torch is being passed to a bevy of young players and prospects.
Here’s a projected 26-man Opening Day roster for the Cards:
Catcher (2): Pedro Pagés, Yohel Pozo
Pagés, who has a .643 OPS over two Major League seasons, has been strong defensively and pitchers have praised his abilities behind the plate. Pozo hit a pair of dramatic home runs last season but struggled after the All-Star break as a rookie in 2025.
First baseman (1): Alec Burleson
Burleson appeared in left field, at first base and as a DH last season, but he’ll probably see more time at first after the Cards dealt Contreras to the Red Sox. Burleson has proven to be productive offensively, posting a .279/.328/.439 slash line with 39 homers from 2024-25.
Second baseman (1): JJ Wetherholt
When Donovan was traded to the Mariners, it opened a vacancy at second base. Enter Wetherholt, the No. 5 prospect in the game per MLB Pipeline. The seventh overall pick in 2024 produced a .304/.418/.487 slash line with 19 home runs in 138 Minor League games from 2024-25.
Shortstop (1): Masyn Winn
Winn wasn’t able to replicate his strong offensive showing from 2024, but the ’25 campaign was still just his age-23 season and his sterling defense won him a Gold Glove Award. A slick defender with a cannon of an arm, Winn has demonstrated why the Cardinals see him as their shortstop over the long term. In 2024, he produced 4.9 bWAR with his great defensive ability along with 15 homers and 11 steals.
Third baseman (1): Nolan Gorman
Gorman, the 19th overall pick in 2018, had a breakout campaign in ’23, belting 27 homers with an .805 OPS in 464 plate appearances while playing mostly second base. With Arenado gone, Gorman’s natural position of third base is freed up. He’ll have to rebound from mediocre offensive performances in 2024 and ’25, though -- over that span, he had a .669 OPS.
Outfielders (3): Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, Jordan Walker
Nootbaar is coming off surgery on both heels and he might miss the first few weeks of the season. But when the left fielder returns, he’ll look to recapture his form from 2023-24, a span over which he had a .773 OPS and produced 4.7 bWAR. Scott became the Cards’ full-time center fielder last year, and while he was well-below-average offensively (72 OPS+), he was excellent defensively -- his +17 outs above average was tied for seventh in baseball. Walker, like Gorman, was a top prospect who had initial success but has struggled since. Will 2026 be his year?
Designated hitter (1): Iván Herrera
Herrera enjoyed a breakout season last year, launching 19 homers with an .837 OPS over 452 plate appearances. The 25-year-old will find his way into the lineup on a regular basis if he keeps producing at that clip, hence his placement under the DH category here even though he is a catcher who needs to improve defensively.
Bench/Utility (3): Nathan Church, José Fermín, Thomas Saggese
Church, the Cardinals’ No. 18 prospect, has elite speed and a solid hit tool -- he hit .335/.400/.531 at Triple-A Memphis last year -- making him a strong candidate to be the club’s fourth outfielder. Fermín is a versatile infielder who put up solid numbers in 70 plate appearances for St. Louis last season (.793 OPS). And Saggese, who has been a utility infielder, could get some reps in the outfield this spring, especially since Nootbaar won’t be ready on Opening Day.
Starting Pitchers (5): Matthew Liberatore, Dustin May, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy
Liberatore made the transition to full-time starter last season, posting a 4.21 ERA over 29 starts. The Cards signed May to a one-year deal earlier this offseason. Pallante and McGreevy were in the rotation last year. Leahy will look to convert to a starting role after having been a reliever in all but one outing (his final appearance last season) to this point in his career (3.64 ERA over 138 1/3 innings).
Relief Pitchers (8): Justin Bruihl, Ryan Fernandez, Gordon Graceffo, Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero, Chris Roycroft, Ryne Stanek, Matt Svanson
Ryan Helsley left in free agency, but the Cardinals added Bruihl via trade and Stanek via free agency to bolster the bullpen, much of which will look similar to last year.