The St. Louis Cardinals haven't been the team that fans were anticipating this season.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak decided to sell at the MLB trade deadline in an attempt to set up Chaim Bloom for the future, once the torch is passed to him.
Because of this, the Cardinals have been giving a ton of prospects a shot at the big leagues. Most recently, it was with catcher Jimmy Crooks and infielder Cesar Prieto. Despite these moves, St. Louis has yet to bring the No. 6 prospect on MLB.com's prospect rankings, infielder JJ Wetherholt.
Insider believes the Cardinals won't promote JJ Wetherholt this season
From a fan's perspective on a disappointing season for the Cardinals, all eyes say to give the green light to JJ Wetherholt, but according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, it's not likely that he'll be seen in the big leagues this season.
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"The 40-player roster is driving factor here. Wetherholt does not have to be added this winter to be protected from the Rule 5 draft, and a handful of other players do," Goold said. "Every spot they give to a player who does not need to be protected is one fewer player they could keep in the organization."
It seems that the Cardinals are staying patient with their top prospect to save roster spots for the future. Wetherholt doesn't need to be added to the Cardinals' 40-man roster because there's no threat to him being elected by another team in the Rule 5 draft this offseason. Other prospects, like Jimmy Crooks and Cesar Prieto, are running out of time before they are eligible to be picked, calling for St. Louis to give them a chance at the 40-man roster and wipe their draft eligibility.