photo: Alec Burleson (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation.com)
Selected press interviews from Day 2 of the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Sunday, January 18, 2026. You can read short synopses or listen to each individual in their entirety.
Sunday’s Day 2 of the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up charity event at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village offered an increased blast of cold as a blustery welcome to the throngs of Cardinals fans attending.
Among the popular presentations on the main stage included a panel discussion with assistant general managers Moises Rodriguez, Rob Cerfolio and Randy Flores and an individual session with JJ Wetherholt.
Autograph sessions with these current Cardinals were scheduled on Sunday to conclude the two-day event: Dustin May, Leonardo Bernal, JJ Wetherholt, Brycen Mautz, Kyle Leahy, Alec Burleson, Michael McGreevy, Hunter Dobbins, Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, Andre Pallante, Masyn Winn, Yohel Pozo, Victor Scott II, Bill DeWitt III and Bill DeWitt Jr.
Cardinals alumni signing on Sunday included Aaron Miles, Randy Flores, Brad Thompson, Preston Wilson, Jeff Suppan, So Taguchi and others.
Typically, either before or after they sign for fans, the players meet with team physicians and are brought to the media area for a question and answer session. Some players also have fan and kids-only Q&A sessions.
Following are my notes from selected interviews held during the St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up on Sunday, January 18, 2026. Following my summary is the audio for those who want to listen to the full content.
Content will be added at multiple points during the day and into the evening.
Dustin May (10:16)
Already gained 20 pounds. Want to add a couple more before spring training. Then hold it during the season. Have to be mindful about food eaten. Watch weight and keep maintained.
Took eight months post-surgery to feel like a normal person again (Feb. 2025).
When joining the Cards, didn’t know he would be the oldest. Excited about new adventure.
Regaining fastball command would be huge. Pens have been going great.
It has been a grind over the last five years. Having his health this offseason was good for his body.
Comes in with clean slate. Show up and do job.
In precontract discussions, the Cardinals pushed their good injury track record (no arm-related injuries in 2025). Brought trainers on the first call.
Wants to get sweeper locked. Trying to get changeup there.
Since number 85 is retired, he picked #3. No reason other than it was available. His wife noted 8-5=3. Also three letters in M-a-y.
Absolutely hates the nickname “Gingergaard”.
Talked with Fitts a lot in Boston. Crossed paths with Dobbins.
His World Series experience also came up in StL calls. Will be fun to use experiences. Didn’t know any Cardinals when he signed.
Brycen Mautz (12:44)
Was doing right things, focused on several wrong things. Had been super upper half focused. Lost direction.
Changes enabled him to throw harder and with more consistent velo. Needed to log reps in new way to introduce new pattern. In game and in drills, used lower half better.
Going on 40-man roster was surreal. Had Pitcher of the Year call from LD (farm director Larry Day) before. This one surprised him. Very emotional moment.
The front office let them come to Busch late in the season and get on the mound.
Prior player development group had the right ideas, but did not talk about it enough. Now it is all laid out. Comes from (Director of Pitching Matt) Pierpont. Explains what they are doing and why.
Two changes for 2026.
- Grip change on changeup. Hadn’t been consistent in past. Before it was off the four seam. Change to get more efficiency, more depth.
- Consistency. Showed it at Double-A. Now can he do it 10 of 10 times instead of 8 of 10?
Got a bunch of Triple-A baseballs. Only using them this off-season.
Bernal is awesome. So young (21). Growth. Became more of a student of the game. Already had the talent. At Palm Beach, if a pitch was working, he would stay with it. At Springfield, he considered the strategy of the situation, prior at-bats, etc.
Going to Jupiter on February 8.
Had a huge issue with righties in 2024. Worked on cutter in off-season. But it affected his slider and curveball negatively. This fifth pitch upside was outweighed by decline in other pitches so he stopped using it.
Close with fellow lefties Pete Hansen and Ixan Henderson. Lived with Hansen last couple of years. All lefties are different. Ixan weirdest of the three.
Michael McGreevy and Thomas Saggese (18:28)
MM: Looking to build something long term. Want a clear defined clubhouse and to make the new guys comfortable. Lead by example.
TS: Happy to play wherever they ask. Not said anything to him about the outfield, but it is something to think about in spring training.
TS: Aware of the moving roster pieces, but try to stay out of it Just get ready for the season.
MM: Sticks to routine. When going up and down to Memphis, it was tougher. Parents, girl friend, Memphis coaches great help.
MM: Happy with weight at 230 now. Last two off-seasons have been good.
TS: Number one is to be comfortable. Not chase results so much. Be consistent. Trust process. Not chase pitches as much.
TS: Young position player group is super fun. Everyone same age, helpful. Similar goals bring us together.
MM: On ABS, gotten accustomed to it. Only challenged once. Won’t do it again. Seen it work at Triple-A. Doesn’t take human access away. Only two calls allowed per game.
TS: Really likes ABS. Consistency. Helps umps learn strike zone. Black and white.
MM: Will miss Sonny Gray a lot. When gave up runs in first inning, Gray told him to throw his first inning in the pen. Great advice. Tries to keep loose before game and not get exhausted before the game.
MM: Tries to help Quinn Mathews. Too hard on himself. Needs to give himself some grace.
TS: Offseason focus on pitch selection. Doing it in cage helps. No nitty-gritty changes being made. Honing in on being more selective while still being aggressive. Making it a priority. Challenge system will help. Taking pitches if not what he wants.
Bill DeWitt Jr. and Bill DeWitt III (26:47)
Jr.: Excited about 2026. Chaim and group did good job. Good young players.
III: FanDuel situation internally disruptive. Two options – either renegotiate with FD or go with MLB Media. Shouldn’t be disruptive for fans. Just on a different channel. Would also love to be on YouTube TV, for example, but that is a step away from them.
Jr.: Hard to quantify success in 2026. Winning season. If core is doing well.
Jr.: On labor situation, many teams prefer less disparity. Will be addressed in labor agreement.
III: Competitive balance is commissioner’s no. 1 role. Multiple ways to address. Disparity exacerbated in recent years.
Jr.: Oli has done good job, excellent job. Defer contract to Chaim. On Chaim vs. Mo, own styles. No two are the same. So far, so good with Bloom. We are optimistic that he can do a good job.
Jr.: Send out more money in trades to get young players back. Could have saved money by not doing that.
Jr.: Not a rebuild, but a build. Chaim is a draft and develop exec. On same page with the plan. Don’t give up draft choices. Hopefully won’t take long. Said (incorrectly) that Baseball America ranks the Cardinals farm system no. 1.
III: Fans are smart, glad strategy clarified. Challenged the last few years because of roster construction. Maybe more moves this offseason.
III: Less revenue makes job more difficult. 31st season. Bucked trends. Will look back on his experience as growth.
III: 20-year-old stadium needs multifaceted changes in near future. See how Royals situation plays out.
Jr.: His succession plan. III is perfect age to continue. We’re third generation baseball people.
III: 2028 is last year of national TV package. MLB will do like NBA which will help all teams. Local media is the question. It will be different. Cautiously optimistic it will come around. Didn’t know it would be so volatile. Can roll with the punches separately from ticket sales.
Andre Pallante (14:21)
Three goals:
- Throw strikes with all pitches that are not 4-seam.
- Kick change. Different look
- Carry fastball. Cuts it now. Stay behind it better.
Has been trying to throw change since college. Still inconsistent. Tough to grab. Solid offering. Changeup works best against left-handers but can also be effective against right-handed bats.
Making 31 starts and throwing 163 innings, they know about you. So come up with different ways of getting outs.
Limited home runs two years ago, but they were way up in 2025. Due to predictability, familiarity.
Regarding new competition in rotation. If you belong in big leagues, you will be there. Can’t control anything but his prep.
Need to limit home runs, get more strikeouts. Limit damage when behind in count.
Struggling does not instill confidence, but am a different pitcher now, with confidence.
Working with same guy in offseason as McGreevy, but they are different. McG throws a lot of different pitches. Pallante has small arsenal.
Has to pre-grip his kick change. Get shapes with it he can’t get otherwise. Learned about it on social media.
Last year, didn’t hit velo until Game 1 of the season. This year, starting throwing 1 1/2 months early. Have thrown 6-10 pens already. Up to 92 mph (against 90 last year).
Jose Fermin (4:18)
Usually played winter ball, but not this year.
Versatility is main thing. Am taking reps in outfield. More value as player.
Trying to get bat speed up on off side. Add more power. Already makes good contact.
At same facility in Tampa. Doing a lot of weighted bat work.
Lost great leaders from team. Young guys need to step up and play to best of abilities.
Last year a little shocked not to make the team but didn’t put head down. Kept working.
Masyn Winn (19:55)
Off-season focus getting knee back right.
Retired glove with gold patch. Signed and gave to his mom.
Bought engagement ring for fiancé.
Take pride in leadership but team has Noot, Donny, Burly.
Looking forward to playing with JJ Wetherholt. Want him to come in comfortable and play his game. Both were at Cressey this winter.
Am very vocal and emotional but in the right way. Also Nootbaar. Be a good example.
Felt great a week after surgery. Affected him more last season than he thought.
Grow up fast. Doesn’t feel like rebuild. Still good young core. 4-5 guys could have a crazy year.
Will not be a longball team. Will be scrappy.
Put trust in Mr. Bloom. Wants to stay here for career.
Saw name on wall at Busch with other Gold Glovers. Didn’t expect it yet. Feels great. Ozzie presented him the award.
Offense is always his focus. Had down year but don’t want to do it again.
On Walker, we all know his potential. Has higher ceiling than all of us.
Winn got too HR happy in 2025. Wants to be annoying at plate, wasting pitches.
On stealing, got thrown out early last season, lost confidence. Will run more in 2026. No competition with Victor Scott. He has track speed, not baseball speed. Would like to be within five steals of Scott in 2026.
On only three errors all last season. Only had 2-3 days all year without taking grounders pre-game.
Don’t know JJ on defensive side yet. Can’t let rookie outhit us! The dude rakes.
On Donovan. This is a business. He is still working. Will show up at spring training wherever prepared.
Joked with Arenado that if he takes a hit away, I will slide into him cleats first.
Sad they will never let him pitch again after one inning rookie year.
Victor Scott II (16:48)
When 14 years old, told his mom he would get her a new car after his first year in MLB. Did it. Both cried.
Want to come back as complete player. Add offense to speed and defense. Went to West Virginia for motion testing. Learned movements were inefficient. Set biomechanics plan. Hip movement, shin angle, ankles, etc.
Started swinging in December. Facing live pitching now. Has shorter swing. Get on front side more. Can adjust to breaking balls better, which he saw a lot of last year. Grounders to second are bad because he cannot run them out.
Casey Chenoweth was his coach in 2023. Understands swing. Provides help.
Wetherholt has very good hit tool. Very humble.
Want to get on base more in 2026. Steal and get in scoring position. Drive ball in gaps. Home runs are not me. Hit ball the other way. Been bunting every day in off-season.
Center field is more process oriented. Gain 1% more doing drills one hour, four days a week.
Double stolen bases from 30-35 last year. Winn will get within five if he steals 65.
Still uses baby glove all the time in training.
Last season was process, system, but didn’t have enough to carry beyond good spring into the season.
Players he’s looking forward to are Jordan Walker and Andre Pallante. Walker says he is shorter to the ball like old self. Pallante’s arsenal.
Yohel Pozo (7:50)
Getting ready for spring competition.
Was surprised to stay with St. Louis all year. Was a great year, especially first half. Less chance to play in 2H.
Ready for pinch hitting, DH, catching, first base backup.
2 big moments in 2025. HR in Chicago. HR vs. Yankees with bat from hospital visit. Likes to spend moments with fans. It is who he is.
Told agent he didn’t want to leave StL. Non-tendered, then offered split contract two days later. Communications better here than his other teams.
Pedro, Ivan and I are all together. Healthy competition. All are friends.
Have been doing own scouting on new pitchers to learn what they throw. More in spring training.
Note:
In order to attend the aforementioned AGM Roundtable discussion, I had to leave the media room for an hour. During that time, I missed the interviews with Leonardo Bernal, JJ Wetherholt, Kyle Leahy and part of Alec Burleson.
Thanks to my podcast partner Kyle Reis, these recordings follow. However, I was not there to summarize them.
Leonardo Bernal
Leonardo Bernal https://t.co/ZxeGBhUwOI
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) January 18, 2026
JJ Wetherholt (two parts)
JJ Wetherholt https://t.co/CvsfS2RuIv
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) January 18, 2026
JJ Wetherholt pt 2 https://t.co/UMrnA4LiwZ
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) January 18, 2026
Kyle Leahy
Kyle Leahy https://t.co/sLhMCV22aV
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) January 18, 2026
Alec Burleson (partial written comments)
Working on solidifying offensive routine so can reel it in more quickly if things go awry.
Arriving at spring training on February 14. Will be ready, but can use the time to ramp up. Doesn’t have to prove to people that he can hit at this level. Takes some pressure off mentally.
First two seasons, knew he was doing the right thing. Didn’t let results bother him. Always made adjustments. It was good to see a few balls drop in 2025 that didn’t before.
What Donovan brings is on the field. Never takes a day off. Played through things that others wouldn’t. Process/routine is always good. Will show others how it should be done. When JJ Wetherholt comes up, tell him to do what Donny does.
Alec Burleson https://t.co/dBJEbAOvlu
— Kyle Reis, 58% Neanderthal (@kyler416) January 18, 2026
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