Cardinals to Cut Spring Standout for Outfielder Everson Pereira

The St. Louis Cardinals made an intriguing move on Thursday by going out and placing a waiver claim on 25-year-old outfielder Everson Pereira.

Pereira is a former top 100 prospect who has just 77 games under his belt in the majors since 2023. While Pereira's numbers in the majors haven't been great, it has been a very small sample size. This season, he was slashing .225/.284/.438 with a .722 OPS, four home runs, 11 RBIs, and five doubles in 27 games with the Chicago White Sox before they moved on from him. It actually was his best stretch of big-league baseball yet.

Pereira isn't on the Cardinals' big league roster just yet, but that is expected to change on Saturday. When it does, the Cardinals will have to make a change and it sounds like it will come at the expense of outfielder Nelson Velázquez. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that the current expectation is that Velázquez will be designated for assignment or released to make room for Pereira.

The Cardinals Have An Outfield Decision To Make

Jul 7, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Nelson Velazquez (38) hits a two run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Cardinals will be removing Nelson Velázquez from the active roster tomorrow to open an active spot for Everson Pereira. He is out of options, so that will require a DFA or release," Jones wrote.

Velázquez has been a positive overall pickup for the Cardinals this season, despite the expected cut. He signed with the organization this past offseason to a minor league deal and then was one of the hottest overall hitters in baseball throughout Spring Training. He made a case for himself to start the season in the majors, but the Cardinals sent him to Triple-A instead.

Eventually, he did get his promotion back to the big leagues for the first time since 2024. Overall, he has played in 34 games with the Cardinals and has slashed .216/.289/.432 with a .722 OPS, four home runs, 12 RBIs and four doubles.

Velázquez is still just 27 years old and has power potential. Back in 2023, he played in 53 total games with the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals and hit 17 homers and drove in 34 runs. Before his promotion this season, he had seven home runs in 40 games in Triple-A. So, overall, he has 11 home runs this season in 74 total games played across Triple-A and the big leagues.

It sounds like his time on the big league roster is about to come to an end. In a perfect world, the Cardinals will find a way to keep him in the organization down in Triple-A.

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