The St. Louis Cardinals had a subtly active day. As the deadline to place prospects on the 40-man roster—and thereby shield them from the Rule 5 Draft—passed, the team announced several additions. Prospects Leonardo Bernal (No. 4), Joshua Baez (No. 11), Cooper Hjerpe (No. 13), and Brycen Mautz (No. 21) were all selected to join the 40-man roster. Additionally, the Cardinals revealed that veteran right-hander Jorge Alcala has been designated for assignment.
“We have made the following roster moves: OF Joshua Baez, C Leonardo Bernal, LHP Cooper Hjerpe,(and) LHP Brycen Mautz selected to the Major League roster,” the Cardinals announced. “RHP Jorge Alcala designated for assignment.”
The Cardinals had a busy day
With Alcala now designated for assignment, other teams will have the chance to claim him off waivers. If no club picks him up, he could either become a free agent or be sent to the Cardinals’ minor-league system.
His 2025 campaign was eventful, to say the least. Alcala logged 15 appearances for St. Louis, posting a 5.02 ERA. He also pitched in 19 games for the Boston Red Sox, where he recorded a 3.31 ERA over 16 1/3 innings. And that wasn’t all—he made 22 outings with the Minnesota Twins as well, finishing with an 8.88 ERA.
Across his seven years in the majors, Alcala has certainly gained plenty of experience. He spent his first six full seasons with the Twins, but 2025 took him on an unexpectedly winding journey.
Of the prospects promoted to the big league roster, the guy who is most interesting is Bernal. He spent the 2025 season in Double-A and MLB.com currently has his estimated big league debut scheduled for 2026. He’s on the doorstep, but the most likely option for him is beginning the season in Triple-A, especially with the logjam of catchers in the big leagues right now for St. Louis.
MLB.com has 2026 projections for all four of the prospects added to the 40-man roster, so it will be interesting to see if any of these guys can win a job in camp. Clearly, the Cardinals didn’t want to risk them in the Rule 5 Draft.
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