Blaze

Jordan

Fernandez made 32 relief appearances for the Cardinals as a rookie last season and will open the year back in the minors as extra organizational depth. Naughton is one of the more prominent names here as he figures to be an option for St. Louis in middle relief at some point during the year. Jordan is a power-hitting corner infield prospect with some thunder in his bat and could wind up getting a look at some point later this season.

The 23-year-old slugger tagged Astros’ closer Bryan Abreu for a 422-foot (107.7 mph EV) solo shot in the fourth inning, pulling the Cardinals to within two runs at 4-2. He’s having an absolutely brutal time in Grapefruit League action, hitting .097 (3-for-31) with one homer and one RBI.

The Cardinals liked Jordan enough to make him the return from the Red Sox in the Steven Matz trade last summer but not enough to protect him from the Rule 5 draft over the winter. Fortunately, he went unselected. While Jordan very much looks like a power hitter and did manage 19 homers in the minors last year, his exit velocity numbers have been pretty poor. One of his best assets as a hitter is that he rarely strikes out, doing so just 11% of the time last year. However, he’s fanned nine times in his 29 plate appearances this spring. He’ll begin this year back in Triple-A.

Wetherholt has an opportunity to break camp on St. Louis’ season-opening roster with a strong performance in Grapefruit League play and possesses the advanced hit tool and emerging power skillset to be a colossal fantasy difference-maker at a relatively weak second base position group. The 23-year-old top prospect batted .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season and could split time between third base and the keystone with defensive wizard Masyn Winn occupying shortstop. It feels like only a matter of time before he ascends to the top of manager Oli Marmol’s lineup card as a top-of-the-order spark plug. The other interesting name to watch is power/speed combo threat Joshua Baez, who broke out with a 16-homer, 34-steal campaign at Double-A Springfield last year. Here’s the full lineup: Winn (SS), Alec Burleson (1B), Nolan Gorman (3B), Pedro Páges (C), Wetherholt (2B), José Fermín (LF), Nathan Church (CF), Baez (RF) and Blaze Jordan (DH).

Jordan is Rule 5 eligible at the end of this season, so the Red Sox shipped him off at the trade deadline in exchange for reliever Steven Matz. Jordan has hit just .143/.184/.257 in nine games with the Cardinals’ organization with one home run, nine RBI, and five runs scored. The 22-year-old either needs to be added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster at the end of this season or left exposed to the Rule 5 draft, so his final weeks of the season will be crucial for his future.

Jordan proved to be an overrated prospect in his first couple of years out of high school, but he’s put up a pretty encouraging .304/.373/.494 line as a 22-year-old in Double- and Triple-A this year and struck out just 38 times in 353 plate appearances. He still doesn’t offer as much in-game power as he looks like he should, and he is going to be Rule 5 eligible this offseason. With his future looking likely to be limited to DH, the Red Sox seemed to feel he had no place on their roster in 2026 and beyond. Still, he’s a good get for Matz.

Passan adds that first base prospect Blaze Jordan is heading to the Cardinals in the deal. Matz provides the Red Sox an immediate upgrade in the back-end of their rotation if they opt to stretch him out as a traditional starter. However, he could also factor into high-leverage spots down the home stretch. The 34-year-old southpaw has worked primarily in relief for St. Louis this season, posting a strong 3.44 ERA and 47/9 K/BB ratio across 55 innings in 32 appearances. He’s set to reach free agency this winter.

After struggling through a disappointing year in Double-A last season, Jordan has turned things around. He hit well enough in 44 games at Double-A to earn a promotion and has since gone 11-for-29 in seven games at Triple-A with one home run, six RBI, and a 4/1 K/BB ratio. The Red Sox are getting enough production from Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez at first base that there is no need to rush Jordan, but if the team falls out of contention, they could give the 22-year-old a chance at the end of the season to decide what their plan is for him in 2026.

Jordan is 3-for-8 with a home run and two RBI since being promoted to Triple-A and is hitting .323/.416/.538 with seven home runs, 39 RBI, three steals and a 20/23 K/BB ratio in 46 games across Double-A and Triple-A. The improvements in contact rate for the 22-year-old have been impressive, and he’s positioning himself to be the long-term platoon partner for Triston Casas at first base. If the Red Sox keep struggling, Jordan may even get a shot to play first base in Boston this summer.

Jordan is the Red Sox’s 19th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline and was the seventh overall first base prospect heading into the 2024 season. He was placed on the IL on May 12 after he fractured his left ring finger. The 21-year-old will return to a slash line of .283/.342/.414 with two home runs and 16 RBI over 111 plate appearances. He could push for a promotion to Triple-A before the end of the season and has a realistic shot to see some at-bats in Boston in 2025.