4 current Cardinals who could one day don red jacket
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This story was excerpted from John Denton¡¯s Cardinals Beat newsletter, written this week by Will Leitch. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
One of the grandest baseball traditions in St. Louis is the Opening Day festivities, in which many Cardinals legends return to town, wearing their red jackets that signify their status as a Cardinals Hall of Famer. Since the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum launched in 2014, it has become a parlor game among many fans to debate which active Cardinals will someday have a red jacket of their own.
The 2023 team surely had at least three no-doubters: Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter. But two of those stars -- Goldschmidt, who¡¯s now with the Yankees, and Carpenter, who is unsigned and is widely expected to retire -- aren¡¯t around anymore, and the Cardinals have spent a large part of their offseason looking at potential trade partners for Arenado. If St. Louis is successful in finding a new home for its third baseman, it begs the question: Will there be anyone on the Cardinals¡¯ 2025 roster who¡¯s going to get a red jacket someday?
You have to think there will be somebody: Presuming Yadier Molina gets his jacket in a couple of years, there has been at least one Cardinals Hall of Famer on the roster every season since ¡ 1914. (I actually went back and checked!) Again: If Arenado is on the roster Opening Day, that streak will unquestionably continue. But I bet it will continue even if he isn¡¯t. Which current Cardinals, outside of Arenado, are the most likely to get a red jacket someday? Let¡¯s rank the candidates.
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1. Ryan Helsley
Helsley has actually been with the Cardinals for six seasons already, though he has only been gathering saves over the last three. But he sure has done some gathering. After his magnificent season in 2024 -- you can make a strong argument he¡¯s the primary reason the Cardinals had a winning record last year -- he has 82 saves over the last three years, for a total of 84 in his career. That¡¯s already tied for sixth with Ryan Franklin on the Cardinals¡¯ all-time list.
If Helsley finishes out the year in St. Louis and equals his total of 49 from last year, he will zoom past Trevor Rosenthal (121), Cardinals Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter (127) and Todd Worrell (129) into third all-time. Even if he leaves as a free agent next offseason, that should be enough to get him a jacket someday.
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2. Masyn Winn
The Cardinals wanted several young players to establish themselves as regulars they could count on for the next half-decade or so, and you could argue that last season, Winn was the only one who actually did it. He was the best player on the team in 2024, and he firmly established himself as the club¡¯s shortstop of the present and future. Winn fell off a little offensively late, but he never looked overwhelmed.
In his second full season with the team, he will likely be not only the Cardinals¡¯ best player but also a team leader. He¡¯s the most marketable young Cardinal, too: Expect to see his jersey everywhere in the team store. It¡¯s obviously very early to start fitting Winn for his red jacket, but there¡¯s every indication he¡¯s going to be the centerpiece, and a fan favorite, for many years to come.
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3. Jordan Walker
This is obviously a speculative pick, considering how much Walker has struggled to establish himself in the Majors. But there¡¯s a reason he was one of the top prospects in baseball: He has the physical skills every player dreams of, and there are moments when you watch him launch a home run and it makes you think he¡¯s about to turn into a superstar any minute. The Cardinals will give him every opportunity this year, and likely for the next few years, to establish himself as exactly that. If he turns that corner, the Cardinals have the franchise cornerstone they so desperately want him to be.
4. Sonny Gray
Gray is still signed for two more years after this one, plus a club option for 2027, and let¡¯s not forget, he has been an ace most of his career. He wasn¡¯t quite one in 2024, but he¡¯s the lead of this staff and will surely remain so as long as he¡¯s a Cardinal. Could that conceivably extend past 2027? It¡¯s a stretch. But when you¡¯re as good as Gray is, you have to be in the conversation.
Other possibilities? Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Willson Contreras would have to stick around for a while, and young players like Iv¨¢n Herrera, Victor Scott II and No. 4 prospect Thomas Saggese are just getting started. It¡¯s still up in the air which non-Arenado player will wear that red jacket someday. But there has to be one ¡ right?