JJ Wetherholt, Nolan Gorman Projected for Bigger Roles With Cardinals

The Cardinals will likely turn to top prospect JJ Wetherholt to replace Brendan Donovan in their lineup...

Mar 5, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left feilder JJ Wetherholt (87) runs to second base against the Houston Astros during the second inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the middle of a massive rebuild right now and they opted to lean into the idea very aggressively this offseason. Instead of making conservative moves like they did at the trade deadline, they've opted for a full scale rebuild.

This included trades like Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners. They also traded Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox in a pair of deals.

While these trades will make the Cardinals better in the long run, they create massive holes on the big-league roster. St. Louis has to replace Gray in the rotation, but they have plenty of options for that spot. Replacing Contreras shouldn't be difficult either. But it could get a bit more complicated with the situations at second base and third base.

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MLB.com recently put together roster and lineup projections for each team in the league. For the Cardinals, they predicted infielder Nolan Gorman would replace the aforementioned Arenado and top prospect JJ Wetherholt would replace Donovan at second base. This seems like the obvious

JJ Wetherholt, Nolan Gorman likely stepping into bigger roles this year

Sep 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) high-fives teammates in the dugout after scoring a run against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

"Wetherholt, the Cards' top prospect and MLB's No. 5 overall, is primed to win a starting job with Brendan Donovan traded," the site's uncredited author wrote. "If Nootbaar starts the season on the IL as he recovers from offseason heel surgeries, you could see someone like Winn in the leadoff spot and Thomas Saggese or Nathan Church in the lineup."

Gorman hasn't been great during his big league career, but he's still the top option to take the job early in the year. If he continues to struggle, the Cardinals could turn to a top prospect or a young infielder like Thomas Saggese.

Wetherholt is one of the top prospects in baseball, so he's the clear answer at second base. Still, given the fact that he's never played at the MLB level, there's a chance he struggles mightily early in the year.

Either way, the Cardinals should have a lot of hope and a lot of patience for these two young infielders. If all goes right, they'll quickly become staples in the lineup.

More MLB: Cardinals Landed Potential Superstar Pitcher in Brendan Donovan Deal