photo: Leo Bernal (St. Louis Cardinals)
As rosters expand from 26 to 28, the St. Louis Cardinals added three players from Triple-A and sent another down. Pitcher Hancel Rincon and catcher Leonardo Bernal will be making their MLB debuts.
St. Louis Cardinals release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Tuesday, September 1) that the team has promoted three players, and that catcher Jimmy Crooks was optioned to Memphis (AAA) following Sunday’s (Aug. 30) game, as Major League Baseball allows active rosters to expand to 28 players today.
Joining the Cardinals active roster for tonight’s series opener in Los Angeles are rookie catcher Leonardo (Leo) Bernal, rookie right-handed pitcher Hancel Rincón and outfielder Victor Scott II. Bernal and Rincón will be making their Major League debut with their first appearance. Scott II made his big league debut at Dodger Stadium in March of 2024.
Bernal (pronounced LAY-oh bur-NAHL), one of the top defensively acclaimed catchers in MiLB, was signed by the Cardinals as an international free agent in January of 2021. The 22-year-old native of Panama City, Panama was slashing .278/.363/.468 with an .831 OPS, 16 HR and 77 RBI (7th in International League) in his first season at the Triple-A level. The 2025 Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove recipient is currently rated as the Cardinals 5th best prospect by Baseball America.
The 6-0, 260-pound switch-hitting Bernal will wear uniform no. 13.
Rincón, 24, a member of the Cardinals organization since 2019, was signed by the Cardinals as an international free agent in January of 2019 at age 16 out of San Pedro de Macoris, DR. The 6-2, 185-pound Rincón (pronounced hahn-sell rin-CONE) has gone 6-6 with a 4.04 ERA this season at Memphis, striking out 88 over 71.1 IP (41 games) primarily as a reliever. Rincón has fashioned a 2.76 ERA & 0.92 WHIP since July 1.
Rincón will wear uniform no. 66.
Scott II, who was on the Cardinals Opening Day roster, appeared in 61 games with St. Louis this season, collecting 9 stolen bases, before being optioned to Memphis (AAA) on June 8. In 57 games at Memphis, Scott II was successful on 23 of 25 stolen base attempts while slashing .237/.320/.342. The left-handed hitting Scott II has 209 career stolen bases as a professional, including 48 with St. Louis. He wears uniform no. 11.
Bernal and Rincón will be joining a group of 10 rookies who had previously debuted for St. Louis this season when they see their first game action.
TCN notes
The only one of the three additions to not have a spot on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster is Rincon. He takes the final available opening, created when reliever Caleb Ferguson was designed for assignment, then released over the weekend.
As mentioned earlier here at The Cardinal Nation, following these moves, the Memphis roster is down to just 22 active players.
Bernal is The Cardinal Nation’ sixth-ranked prospect.
In uneven playing time since he was called up to St. Louis on May 29, Crooks slashed a disappointing .179/.255/.336/.591 in 149 plate appearances over 52 games.
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