The St. Louis Cardinals are putting an end to the 2025 season this week and officially said farewell to John Mozeliak during the home finale at Busch Stadium on Sunday. While the crowd was subdued during Mozeliak’s first pitch, the team also allowed third baseman Nolan Arenado the chance to walk off the field to a standing ovation from the Cardinals faithful.
Arenado is under contract for the next two seasons, but after failing to move him this past offseason, it appears that all sides are finally
in agreement that it is best to move on from the potential Hall of Famer. What that means will be one of Chaim Bloom’s first tasks as he decides if he can find a suitor that is on Arenado’s trade list or simply cut ties through a release to allow the third baseman to choose his next destination while the acquiring team pays next to nothing for his services. Either way, though, the Cardinals will have to fill his spot at the hot corner while figuring out how to balance competition and rebuilding. There are internal options, some more exciting than others, as well as players they could grab for cheap to fill the spot while the team figures out how to get back into playoff contention in the future.
Who should play third base for the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals?
40-man options
Arenado’s 2025 season was a down year by most measures but he was still the team’s starting third baseman whenever he was healthy. Injuries took their toll on the 32-year-old after the trade deadline when he was placed on the injured list with a shoulder issue and that led to a committee of players filling in at the hot corner. In order of games played at third, those players were Nolan Gorman (46), Thomas Saggese (16), and Jose Fermin (4), as well as Jose Barrero grabbing one game before being sent elsewhere.
That group, including Arenado, put up a a 0.7 fWAR and combined to hit 16 homers and drove in 72 runs while putting up a .667 OPS and an 87 WRC+, good for 21st in baseball. When we remove Nado, those numbers change to a -0.2 fWAR and a 90 WRC+. No matter how it is sliced, third base was a production issue for the Cardinals and will continue to be a question mark even with saying good bye to another lousy season from Arenado. Even with this mediocre, at best, performance, at least one of the three remaining players above could fill the everyday role next season.
Starting with Gorman, because he has the most time and experience with the big league team, it is possible that the organization views him as the one who should receive the first crack at the starting lineup. He was supposed to be the main beneficiary of an Arenado deal this offseason, but when Arenado remained, Gorman had to fight for playing time and his inconsistent role provided inconsistent results. He is known as a streaky player, so I decided to just look at month-long sample sizes as opposed to the season as a whole, but the results were not encouraging. His best month came in June when he put up an .867 OPS while hitting six homers and driving in 16 runs. After Arenado hit the injured list, Gorman was given regular playing time in August and hit four more homers while also showing improved plate awareness that allowed him to draw more walks, although the strikeout issues remained. Overall, Gorman regressed to a .669 OPS and .204 batting average while striking out 33% of the time. Defensively, Gorman made six errors in 52 games, a massive downturn from the Gold Glove defense the team is used to. Fans are split on Gorm, it seems, as half of the group wants the team to send him packing, giving up on his 30-homer potential from the left side, while others feel he should get one final shot to prove his value.
Saggese is an interesting case as he has yet to find his defensive home while getting sporadic opportunity at each level. He received his longest run after the trade deadline and Arenado was placed on the IL and Gorman, Masyn Winn, and Brendan Donovan were all missing time with their own injuries. Never known for his power or ability to take walks, Saggese has hit two homers and put up a .651 OPS for the season, but those numbers look better since August began. In those 43 games, the OPS jumped to a .672 with a .276 batting average, but just a 91 WRC+. In 35 games at third base, Saggese has made two errors and is rated as an average defensive third baseman. Personally, I feel he will be best suited as a right-handed Brendan Donovan, who has more value because of his versatility rather than his offensive production, and he could also get some work in the outfield to increase that value.
The last rostered option who actually saw time in the bigs at third base is Jose Fermin, another peripheral player who has filled in here and there with limited opportunities. In a 24-game sample that has only produced 59 plate appearances, Fermin has the best numbers of the group with a 136 OPS+ thanks to an .817 OPS and four extra-base hits. For his minor league career, Fermin has a .761 OPS and is better known for his athleticism than his power, so I have a hard time putting him in the third base conversation.
The final option on the 40-man is someone who made a short appearance in the bigs, but did not spend any time at third base despite playing most of the season there in Memphis this year. Cesar Prieto came up for three short games and received just six at-bats, grabbing one hit and striking out each of the other appearances. The strikeouts were surprising for Prieto as the lefty infielder struck out just over 13% of the time with Memphis this season and had an .815 OPS with a .300 batting average in 121 Triple-A games. He has a little more pop than each of the last two players but his career-high in homers is 14, which he set last season. I would expect to see Prieto become a major league option in some capacity next season but not at the point that he should be getting everyday at-bats.
If I had to choose the 2026 starting third baseman from this group, all other things equal, I would start the season with Nolan Gorman and truly give him his runway.
Non-roster options
As we can see, the incumbent group of potential third baseman is lacking, which could open the door for players within the organization who are not currently on the 40-man roster to compete for the gig. The most obvious of which is the team’s top prospect, and top-10 in all of baseball, JJ Wetherholt, who made his way up to Triple-A this season after being drafted 7th overall in last year’s draft. He was chosen out of West Virginia as a shortstop, but with Masyn Winn set there for the future, he has seen time there, second base, and at the hot corner. His future position depends on how Bloom handles the rest of the roster as it is possible that there is an opening at second for Wetherholt to take if his third base defense is not up to par or if other players are dealt this offseason. Even with the quick ascent through the system, Wetherholt has passed the test offensively and he hit 10 homers, hit .314, and walked nearly as much as he struck out in 47 games with Memphis. The team could give him offseason homework to concentrate on third base, but it is also possible they keep rolling with the same strategy to not put too much on his plate as he looks to crack the majors.
If the team views Wetherholt as a middle infielder, their third base focus could shift to trade deadline acquisition Blaze Jordan, who has only played a handful of games at third since coming over from Boston. The 22-year-old Jordan struggled with the bat in Memphis, putting up a .198 batting average with seven homers in 41 games. His approach has not changed, though, as the righty profiles similarly to Alec Burleson as he swings at mostly everything but is able to make contact with anything the pitcher throws. Jordan is Rule 5 eligible this offseason so he will, at minimum, be added to the 40-man roster and I could see him receive an invite to major league Spring Training as he looks to insert his name into the third base equation.
Obviously, there is not much of an answer here, either. Wetherholt will likely find most of his time coming at second base but that spot will need to be cleared up somehow this offseason as well, which could mean the end of Brendan Donovan’s Cardinal tenure if the organization decides to sell high on his value. If Jordan was able to match his performance with the Boston minor league system, I would be open to giving him a lengthy audition in Spring Training.
External options
As we can see, the internal options for the Cardinals’ third base hole is lacking in excitement or production, assuming Wetherholt slides to the other side of the diamond. With the Cardinals facing a multi-year rebuild, they do not need to have the long-term answer just yet for their corner infielder, but it would go a long way for fan confidence to at least see some future talent break through. The unfortunate timing of the upcoming rebuild coincides with a pretty mediocre class of third base free agents outside of Alex Bregman, who has the ability to opt out of his current deal and hit the market again. If he does, do not expect either the Cardinals or Bregman to put much effort into contacting each other. Because of this, it was difficult to find external options who are 1. realistic and 2. better than the internal options. I could only find two, and even that was a stretch.
The first comes in the form of the oft-injured, former top prospect Yoan Moncada, who has spent this season once again battling injuries. In 81 games with the Angels, Moncada has actually been productive with 26 extra-base hits and a .790 OPS with solid peripherals. However, he is atrocious defensively and is rated as one of the worst infielders in the sport. Even as a switch-hitter, Moncada would likely be a pretty strict platoon bat as he has an .823 OPS against right-handed pitchers to go against a .476 OPS in just 23 at-bats against lefties. The Cardinals have struggled against southpaws all season so it would be tough to count on Moncada having a bounce back year in 2026.
To finally end this dull and upsetting exercise, I had to add one fun free agent name to the list who does not really fit my first requirement of “realistic” but take a look at the free agent list and let me know if you can find someone more exciting. I settled on veteran Eugenio Suarez as someone I would love to see in St. Louis, but his cost and shortcomings at third probably limit that possibility. This season, Suarez has hit 47 homers between Arizona and Seattle, which is more than double the leader for the Cardinals in that category, and would be a major boost for a team that sits 28th in baseball with 143 long balls. However, as a veteran who figures to see plenty of suitors despite his lack of defense, Suarez will probably be out of the Cardinals price range and would only be viewed as a short-term piece they could flip at the deadline. I would be open to that idea but with the team slashing payroll and looking to finally give youngsters their runway, they will probably poke around elsewhere.
So, as we all rush to say our farewells to one of the best all-around third basemen of all time, Nolan Arenado at least gave us a comfortable feeling as we expected every ball that was hit near him to be fielded and put up MVP-level numbers in the middle of the order. While it is more likely than not that he will be jettisoned this offseason, I know I am worried about what will happen at the hot corner, even if wins and losses are not what the team is shooting for next season and beyond.
