Two Moves Cardinals Must Make to Keep Winning Ways Going

Despite the rebuild, there are moves they should be looking to make.

Apr 7, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt (26) fields a ground ball against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals may be rebuilding, but they have performed much better than expected this season. The National League Central is tightly packed, and St. Louis is 8-7, just one game back of first place.

However, they suffered a series loss to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend and may be coming back down to earth a little bit. They weren't expected to contend this season, so there are certainly reasons for fans to be skeptical.

There are still some ways the Cardinals can be better than expected though. If they make these two moves, they can still surprise some people.

Move JJ Wetherholt out of the leadoff spot

Mar 31, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a single against the New York Mets during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Wetherholt got off to a hot start in 2026, leading two comebacks for the Cardinals in their opening series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Unfortunately for St. Louis, he has cooled off a bit and is now hitting just .214 with a .624 OPS.

Because of where the Cardinals are right now, they aren't going to send him down to Triple-A, and they shouldn't, because he is who they should be building around. But perhaps taking a little pressure off of him would help.

To get the bats going again, St. Louis could potentially look at using a different leadoff hitter. Wetherholt may be better served hitting in the middle of the order or potentially later, at least for now. His potential is high, but there is a lot of pressure that comes with leading off.

Move on from Nolan Gorman

Apr 1, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) hits a one run single against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The Cardinals traded Nolan Arenado this past offseason to open up third base for Nolan Gorman. Gorman will continue to get opportunities to prove that he can be part of the team's next core, but with other options in-house, one has to wonder how long that will last.

Gorman has hit two home runs, but is also only hitting .205 with a .643 OPS to start the season. He has not been the same since hitting 27 home runs in 2023. The Cardinals already have a ton of left-handed hitters, so cutting down on that supply would be wise.

St. Louis also has Thomas Saggese, Jose Fermin and Ramon Urias in house, who are better options at third base both offensively and defensively. They can still keep their promise of giving younger players more opportunities, but at a certain point, they're going to have to pull the plug on Gorman.