The Cardinals are set to bring up pitching prospect Hancel Rincon when rosters expand tomorrow, according to Yancen Pujols. St. Louis had already cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by releasing Caleb Ferguson over the weekend, so Rincon’s path to the majors is open.
Catching prospect Leo Bernal is also expected to join the club tomorrow. The Cardinals may not be done there, either.
The MLB.com transaction tracker shows they optioned catcher Jimmy Crooks this evening, which would leave one active roster opening for a position player. Masyn Winn would be eligible to come off the injured list, and if he isn’t ready, outfielder Victor Scott II is the only other position player who could be added without a 40-man roster move.
Rincon, now 24, is reaching the big leagues after eight seasons in the minors. He would have been eligible for minor league free agency at the start of the offseason if the Cardinals hadn’t kept him by adding him to the roster.
He hasn’t been a name that has popped on the major prospect lists. Baseball America never ranked him among the organization’s top 30, and he doesn’t show up on MLB Pipeline’s team list. James Fegan of FanGraphs was more bullish, placing him 18th in the system over the offseason and pointing to a plus changeup and an above-average slider.
St. Louis shifted Rincon out of the rotation and into a multi-inning relief role this season, and the move has given them a useful look at what he can do in shorter bursts.
Across 41 appearances with Triple-A Memphis, he’s thrown 71 1/3 innings and posted a 4.04 ERA. He’s also struck out about 30% of the hitters he’s faced, though the walks have been a bit of an issue at 10.4%.
Even so, he’s generating a solid mix of whiffs and ground balls while working with a heater that sits in the 95 mph range, along with that slider and changeup.
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The broader opening is part of what makes Scott interesting heading toward 2027. St. Louis does not have much established competition in center field right now, which leaves the door cracked for a player whose speed and defensive profile already fit the position. If Scott keeps trending in the right direction, the Cardinals could be looking at a real internal candidate to reclaim a job that once seemed to slip away. [Read more 🡒]