Photo: JJ Wetherholt (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals had a player named to the MLB Pipeline All-Rookie Team. Second Baseman JJ Wetherholt earned a spot for his outstanding rookie campaign. Outfielder Jordan Walker was also nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award. Our history feature highlights memorable moments from the team’s previous postseason appearances.
Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt named to the MLB Pipeline All Rookie Team
MLB Pipeline has selected its 2026 All-Rookie Team. As expected, MLB Pipeline picked Cardinal JJ Wetherholt for second base.
In its write-up on Wetherholt, MLB Pipeline correctly notes that Wetherholt led all Rookies in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) with 4.6. Wetherholt amassed 25 Outs Above Average (OAA), leading all rookies and ranking second only to the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong across all of major league baseball.
Wetherholt is likely to be a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year in 2026 alongside the Reds’ Sal Stewart, and the Mets’ Carson Benge and Nolan McLean. MLB Network will announce the winner on November 9, 2026.
Big Picture
The postseason now enters its final two stages, the Championship Series and the World Series. The postseason will end by October 31.
The first game of the NLCS is scheduled for Sunday, October 11, between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.
On Monday, October 12, Game 2 of the NLCS will be played, along with Game 1 of the ALCS between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians. Both Championship Series will conclude on or before October 20.
The World Series will begin on October 23 and will conclude on or before October 31.
After the World Series, any eligible player officially becomes a free agent. At that time, the Cardinals will have to decide on their one and only free agent, RHP Ryne Stanek. Stanek has a 2027 club option in his contract, and the team will decide whether to exercise it in the five days after the World Series ends. The team will likely decline the option.
Other offseason activities include the annual player awards in each league, which usually begin with the NL and AL Gold Glove awards. The remaining awards will follow over the next couple of weeks. The finalists for the Gold Glove awards will be announced this week on Thursday, October 15. ESPN will announce the winners on November 1, 2026.
The annual General Manager Meetings will take place during the week of November 10th. In a normal offseason, this is when discussions about offseason trades and signings first occur. This may change or be reduced due to the likely December 1 lockout.
Other offseason dates in November of interest are November 18 and November 21. On the 18th, two things occur. First, players have until then to accept or reject the Qualifying Offer. Teams must make the QO during the five-day window after the World Series ends. On the 18th, teams must also add players they want to protect from the Rule 5 draft to the 40-man roster. This happens regardless of whether the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft actually takes place in December.
November 21 is the tender deadline. On that date, teams must tender contracts to all pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. Any player who is not tendered a contract is released from the organization. The league will determine arbitration-eligible players’ salaries later.
Over the next couple of months, we’ll chronicle these and other activities in this space.
Stay tuned for what’s next in the offseason and beyond.
Final NL Central Standings
Team W L Pct GB WCGB
| Milwaukee | 103 | 59 | .636 | —— | ——- |
| Chicago | 89 | 73 | .549 | 14 | ——- |
| Pittsburgh | 82 | 80 | .506 | 21 | 6 |
| St. Louis | 77 | 85 | .475 | 26 | 11 |
| Cincinnati | 75 | 87 | .463 | 28 | 13 |
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The postseason has entered the Championship Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers play Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday, October 11.
The Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians play Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday, October 12. Game 2 of the NLCS will also be played on that day.
Both leagues’ Championship Series will end on or before October 20.
The World Series begins on Friday, October 23 and runs through Saturday, October 31, if necessary.
At 9:00 a.m. the day after the World Series ends, the offseason officially begins.
The only other major league activity during this time is the announcement of the Roberto Clemente Award winner. The St. Louis Cardinals nominee for this year’s Clemente Award is outfielder Jordan Walker. Cardinal fans can vote for Walker now.
Blast from the Past
The Postseason is well underway. The Wild Card Series and the Division Series have been played, and the postseason field has been narrowed to four teams. The American League is down to the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians, and the National League to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.
The National League Championship Series and the American League Championship Series are underway, with Game 1 of the NLCS played on Sunday, October 11.
Game 1 of the ALCS will be played on Monday, October 12, along with Game 2 of the NLCS.
In this week’s Blast from the Past, we chronicle postseason events from the St. Louis Cardinals’ franchise history during October 5 through October 11. These events are varied but of interest to fans.
Below is a list of postseason events from the past. The event date and details are included.
October 5, 2011 – On this date, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies played Game 4 of the NLDS at Busch Stadium. While Skip Schumaker was at the plate and Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt was on the mound, a grey squirrel ran in front of Schumaker. Oswalt threw the pitch right then, and the umpire called it a ball. Oswalt and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel both argued the pitch shouldn’t have counted because the squirrel distracted the batter. Umpire Angel Hernandez disagreed.
The Cardinals won the game and eventually the series, moving on to face the Brewers in the NLCS. The squirrel was immortalized as the “rally squirrel” and even appeared on the ring the Cardinals received after winning the World Series against the Texas Rangers.
October 5, 2012- On this day, the Cardinals played the Braves in the inaugural Wild Card Game at Turner Field. In the eighth inning, with the Cardinals leading 6-3 and the Braves batting with two men on, SS Andrelton Simmons hit a pop fly to shallow left field. Both LF Matt Holiday and SS Pete Kozma went for the ball. Neither player caught it, and it fell to the ground, possibly because it was too loud to hear one of the fielders call for it. The umpire signaled the infield fly rule while the ball was in the air, putting the runners’ advancement at risk.
The Braves disputed the call, and the angry crowd began throwing trash onto the field. The field was cleared of players, and the game was delayed 20 minutes to clean up the trash and warn Braves fans that the game would be forfeited if they didn’t stop throwing objects onto the field.
The game eventually resumed; the Cardinals won and moved on to the NLDS against the Washington Nationals. The Braves’ protest was denied.
October 8, 2009 – The Cardinals played the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, with the Dodgers up 1-0 in the series. The Cardinals were ahead 2-1 going into the ninth inning. In that inning, with one out and Dodger first baseman James Loney batting, Loney hit a fly ball to left field. While trying to catch it, Cardinal left fielder Matt Holiday lost the ball in the lights, and it hit the area of his lower abdomen before falling to the ground. Loney reached second on Holiday’s error, and the Dodgers eventually scored two runs to win 3-2. The Dodgers swept the Cardinals 3-0.
October 9, 1934 – In Game 7 of the 1934 World Series between the Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers, Cardinal left fielder Joe “Ducky” Medwick slid hard into Tiger third baseman Marv Owen in the sixth inning. Angry Tiger fans at Navin Field in Detroit began pelting Medwick with fruit and other objects when he took his position in left field in the bottom of the inning. Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis was in the stands and decided to eject Medwick from the game “for his own safety.” The Cardinals still won the game and the series.
October 10, 1968 – On this date, the Cardinals played the Detroit Tigers in Game 7 of the World Series. In the fifth inning, SS Dal Maxvill hit a pop-up to first base. This out earned Maxvill the unwelcome moniker of the first major leaguer to go 0-for-22 in the World Series.
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
20% off – 2026 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its ninth year. It includes 275 pages of
in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including over five dozen all-new player scouting reports by Kyle Reis. Order your PDF or spiral-bound printed book today.
Closeout sale of remaining printed books at 20% off.
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Order The Cardinal Nation’s 2026 St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Guide
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Follow Marilyn Green on Bluesky @mrlyn59.bsky.social.
© 2026 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or republished.