Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Addresses His Uncertain Opening Day Status

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt (77) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

JJ Wetherholt went out on the diamond on Thursday and proved yet again that he deserves to be the opening day second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals.

In this year’s installment of Major League Baseball’s “Spring Breakout” tour, Wetherholt and several of the Cardinals’ top prospects faced off against their counterparts in the Washington Nationals organization. In a spring training game with higher visibility than normal, Wetherholt went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

Though the writing is on the wall at this point that Wetherholt will start for the Cardinals when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays to open the season next Thursday, the 23-year-old showed yet again on Thursday that he isn’t taking anything for granted.

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What Wetherholt said about opening day roster status

After the “Spring Breakout” game, Wetherholt dished on his mentality as the final roster cuts loom: He’s acting as though nothing is given, and every day could still be the difference between making the team and getting sent to Triple-A.

“I’m not sure (if I will make the team). It’s in God’s hands,” Wetherholt said, per Bill Ladson of MLB.com. “I have to continue to go out competing, practicing, playing hard every day and being myself, and roll with whatever.”

Wetherholt won’t be the only top prospect making his major league debut for the Cardinals this season, and in light of Thursday’s occasion, he took the opportunity to espouse the virtues of the farm system that president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has been building.

“You want to be part of a farm system that is ranked high and has good prospects and good coaching behind them. That’s what we have ,” Wetherholt said, per Ladson. “It gives us an opportunity to build superstars in-house.”

St. Louis trading starting second baseman Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners in February seemed to exponentially increase the odds of Wetherholt making the team. At some point in the next week, he and the entire Cardinals fan base will finally get their answer.