The St. Louis Cardinals will have all hands on deck through the spring while trying to figure out its Opening Day infield.

The Cardinals added veteran presence to the infield Feb. 21 after they signed third baseman Ramon Urias to a one-year deal.

The addition of St. Louis gave the franchise much-needed coverage at the hot corner due to the relative inexperience at the position on the roster. The Cardinals dealt away incumbent starter and multi-time Platinum Glove-winner Nolan Arenado and 2025 All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan this offseason.

At the time of the deal, St. Louis seemed to have limited time to work with Urias. He was slated to compete for Team Mexico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which takes place from March 5-17.

According to a post on "X" from ESPN Mexico, Urias has pulled out of the WBC, opting instead to spend the full spring with the Cardinals at the team's spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla.

Mexico will replace Urias on the roster with Atlanta Braves infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr.

Urias is a former Gold Glove-winner, which he earned in 2022 while playing third base for the Baltimore Orioles. His five-and-a-half-year stint with Baltimore from 2020-25 marked the first major league stint of his career, which began in 2010 when he was signed by the Texas Rangers as an international free agent out of Mexico.

Before Urias made his major league debut with the Orioles in 2020, he spent a two-year stint with St. Louis from 2018-20 in the organization's minor league system.

Urias was traded by Baltimore to the Houston Astros on July 31, 2025, in return for right-handed pitcher Twine Palmer. Across 112 games last season with the Orioles and Astros, he slashed .241/.292/.384 with a .676 OPS and hit 17 doubles and 11 home runs with 44 RBIs.

In his career, Urias has slashed .257/.321/.403 with a .724 OPS and has hit 81 doubles, six triples and 50 homers with 215 RBIs across six major league seasons.

Third base has become a growing question mark with the deal of Arenado and Donovan. Currently, Nolan Gorman is projected to make the Opening Day roster as the starting third baseman according to FanGraphs. Other players on the roster, such as Thomas Saggese, Jose Fermin and the organization's top prospect, JJ Wetherholt, all have experience playing third.

FanGraphs' roster resource currently predicts Urias will be on the bench for St. Louis when the team plays its first game of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 26.

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