His fractured left thumb healed enough to grip a bat and hit MLB pitching again, Cardinals' shortstop Masyn Winn was activated off the 10-day Injured List before Tuesday night's game in San Francisco.

Cesar Prieto, who drew a walk and stole a base in the 11th inning of the Cardinals 5-4 loss to the Giants on Monday night, was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

When Baseball Savant recently revealed a new statistical analysis to better evaluate the defensive effectiveness of MLB first basemen, it proved something that the Cardinals already knew: Alec Burleson is quickly blossoming as a star defensively at first base.

Finally back at his natural position after bouncing around the outfield while Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras played ahead of him at first base, Burleson has proven to be a good target for infielders to throw to in 2026.

JJ Wetherholt's MLB career got off to an incredibly strong start at Busch Stadium, with him homering in his first career home game and producing a game-inning single in the second game. Also, the 23-year-old rookie's first-ever multi-homer game at the big-league level came at Busch Stadium on April 14 against the Guardians.

However, the standout rookie's production has fallen off dramatically at home this season. Through the years, Cardinals players have expressed their frustrations over the difficulty of driving balls out of their home ballpark and often referring to it as 'Busch'd' when balls routinely get knocked down by St. Louis' thick, humid air in the summer months.

The St. Louis Cardinals didn't have to wait long to see the enormous potential held by Joshua Báez as the rookie slugger crushed the first pitch that he saw at the big-league level 449 feet for a towering home run that nearly left Wrigley Field.

Báez, 23, was officially promoted on Saturday morning after leading all of the Minor Leagues in home runs with 34 and RBI with 90. He showed off that power by crushing Matthew Boyd's 93.4 mph fastball well over the wall in left-center and nearly out of the stadium. The smash left Báez's bat at 108.6 mph and at 449 feet, it was the third longest homer hit at Wrigley Field this season.

Nelson Velazquez, who was designated for assignment on Saturday to make room on the roster for newly acquired outfielder Everson Pereira, was claimed by the Houston Astros on Monday. That ended the Cards' hopes of hanging onto Velazquez and makes him a member of the Astros, a club that got a good look at the slugging outfielder during Spring Training. 

Velazquez, 27, thought he had made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster after hitting .357 with four homers and 10 RBI in Spring Training, but the club instead sent him to Triple-A. He was promoted on May 29, and he had two hits, a homer and three RBI in a win over the Cubs.

I was Busch Stadium over the weekend. The third time I've been in my life. 

It never fails to deliver as one of the best ballparks in the sport. Easily in my Top 5. 

Yohel Pozo, whose journey back to the big leagues had the feel of a made-for-TV movie and captured the hearts and minds of Cardinals fans, departed the organization on Thursday when he was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.

Pozo, 29, was designated for assignment last week when the Cardinals were forced to add reliever to the 40-man roster to replace left-hander JoJo Romero (appendicitis). Pozo, who tied the National League lead in pinch-hit RBI last season, was claimed off waivers by the Orioles, who lost prosing young catcher Samuel Basallo to a shoulder injury.

John Mozeliak, a front office leader for the Cardinals for three decades before his departure at the end of the 2025 season, spent time with manager Oliver Marmol, members of the Cards' coaching staff and several players, prior to his former team facing off against the Angels on Monday.

Mozeliak, who was a part of 10 playoff teams, two National League pennant winners and a 2011 World Series winner in St. Louis, was hired as an interim general manager and baseball operations consultant by the Angels on June 26. Mozeliak, who hasn't committed to the Angels beyond 2026, is tasked with trying to lay down the framework of a turnaround for a franchise that has suffered through 10 straight losing seasons and is seemingly headed to an 11th in 2026.

Jordan Walker pulled off an effort for the ages in the Home Run Derby, homering six straight times when he was down to his final swing.

Despite being booed before every swing by Phillies fans -- and jeered when he failed to homer -- Walker rallied to beat MLB home run leader Kyle Schwarber to become the first ever Cardinals player to win the award.  Let that sink in for a second -- Mark McGwire, who hit 70 homers in 1998, never won the Derby. And Albert Pujols, who pulled off a stirring run to 703 homers in 2022, also never won a Derby.

A day after selecting two teenaged high school players and five position players among their MLB-most seven first-day picks in the MLB Draft, the Cardinals shifted much of their focus to proven college pitchers on Sunday.

Of their 16 picks on Sunday, the Cardinals drafted 10 pitchers -- all from the college ranks. Here is a look at the club's second-day picks from the MLB Draft: