Latest Details After Cardinals Lose JJ Wetherolt in Major Injury Blow

The St. Louis Cardinals will be without the services of the rookie phenom for at least the next week or so.

Aug 17, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) runs off the field at the end of the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rookie phenom JJ Wetherholt is the latest member of the St. Louis Cardinals to land on the Injured List and at this point, it's unclear when we will next see him on the field.

Wetherholt was placed on the 10-day Injured List on Sunday with what the club called right wrist tendinitis. In his place, the Cardinals promoted infielder César Prieto.

When discussing the injury, Wetherholt shared that he has been dealing with it for a bit. He shared that he was told he could continue to play as long as the pain didn't get worse. Unfortunately, Wetherholt shared that the pain increased over the last "three or four days," which is what triggered the stint on the Injured List, as transcribed by John Denton of Roundtable Sports.

"The diagnosis was that if the pain doesn't increase, we could continue to go about [managing it], and obviously I was on medicine and doing treatment every day and it was manageable, but these past three or four days have been pretty bad," Wetherholt said. "We've been trying to incorporate some rest and stuff like that, but my body was just not really responding to it." 

It's Going To Be A Bit

Aug 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt (26) tags out Baltimore Orioles left fielder Dylan Beavers (12) during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The fact that this is an injury that Wetherholt has been dealing with for roughly a month and that the pain has gotten worse isn't the greatest sign for the young infielder. Wetherholt has played the most games of his professional baseball career to this point, by far. Wetherholt was selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.

That year, he played in 36 games in college and 29 games in the pros with Class-A Palm Beach. In 2025, Wetherholt played in 109 total games down in the minors. Right now, Wetherholt has already played in 130 games so far this season. He has missed just eight total games this season. The Cardinals have played 138 games and have 24 games left.

Wetherholt was placed on the 10-day Injured List on Aug. 30. That means that the soonest he could be activated off the Injured List would be Sep. 9, if he just misses the minimum 10 days. If he can return on Sep. 9, there will be 16 games left in the regular season at that point for St. Louis.

Now, we wait. Hopefully, his wrist is able to heal up and he's able to get back on the field down the stretch. There's no need to rush him from the perspective of the standings. St. Louis isn't likely to land a playoff spot at this point. When it comes to Wetherholt, the thing to watch out for is the NL Rookie of the Year Award race. If Wetherholt wins the award, the Cardinals will get an extra draft pick. It's something to watch, at least.