Leonardo Bernal added to 40-Man Roster
From Press Release: (Editor’s note, sign up for Rob Rains’ STL Sports Page Newsletter to keep up on all the prospects as well as the daily Cardinals news. CLICK HERE)
The St. Louis Cardinals selected the contracts of outfielder Joshua Baez, catcher Leonardo Bernal and left-handed pitchers Cooper Hjerpe and Brycen Mautz to the 40-player Major League roster. Right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala was designated for assignment.
Baez, 22, the Cardinals 2021 2nd round selection in the MLB Draft out of Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Mass., had a breakout season in 2025 between Peoria (A+) and Springfield (AA) batting .287 with 20 home runs, 79 RBI and was successful in 54-of-63 stolen base attempts. The 6-foot-3, 242 lb, slugger posted an .884 OPS and played in a career-high 117 games. The Cardinals No. 4 prospect according to Baseball America, led the organization in total bases and stolen bases, while ranking among the Top 5 in home runs (1st), RBI (2nd), hits (3rd), runs (3rd), doubles (3rd) and and extra base hits (3rd).
Bernal, 21, an international free agent signed out of Panama City, Panama, in 2021 was selected as the Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove winner at catcher for the 2025 season which included all minor league players at every level. The switch-hitting backstop played in 107 games at Springfield and batted .247 with 13 HR and 70 RBI with 13 stolen bases. Bernal threw out 39.1 percent of attempted base stealers, catching 27 in 69 attempts. He is the Cardinals No. 4 prospect for MLB.com and ranked No. 9 by Baseball America.
Hjerpe, 24, the Cardinals 1st round selection (22nd overall pick) in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Oregon State, missed the entire 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The sidewinding southpaw has averaged 12.2 strikeouts/9 IP over the first two years of his professional playing career hurling 93.1 innings and was a non-roster invite to Cardinals Major League camp in 2025.
Mautz, 24, the Cardinals 2nd round selection out of the University of San Diego in 2022 posted an 8-3 record with a 2.98 ERA in 25 starts for Springfield. Mautz ranked among Cardinals farmhands in ERA (2.98, 4th), strikeouts (134, 2nd), innings pitched (114.2, 4th) and WHIP (1.11, 2nd).
Alcala, 30, pitched in 15 games for St. Louis as a waiver claim from Boston on August 7.
Entire 40-Man Roster Listed:
| Pitchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |
 |
Ryan Fernandez 64 | R/R | 6′ 0″ | 200 | 06/11/1998 |
 |
Gordon Graceffo 44 | R/R | 6′ 4″ | 220 | 03/17/2000 |
 |
Andre Granillo 65 | R/R | 6′ 4″ | 250 | 05/12/2000 |
 |
Sonny Gray 54 | R/R | 5′ 10″ | 190 | 11/07/1989 |
 |
Tink Hence 30 | R/R | 6′ 1″ | 195 | 08/06/2002 |
 |
Cooper Hjerpe | L/L | 6′ 3″ | 200 | 03/16/2001 |
 |
John King 47 | L/L | 6′ 2″ | 215 | 09/14/1994 |
 |
Kyle Leahy 62 | S/R | 6′ 5″ | 225 | 06/04/1997 |
 |
Matthew Liberatore 52 | L/L | 6′ 4″ | 215 | 11/06/1999 |
 |
Brycen Mautz | L/L | 6′ 3″ | 190 | 07/17/2001 |
 |
Michael McGreevy 36 | L/R | 6′ 4″ | 220 | 07/08/2000 |
 |
Riley O’Brien 55 | R/R | 6′ 4″ | 180 | 02/06/1995 |
 |
Andre Pallante 53 | R/R | 6′ 0″ | 215 | 09/18/1998 |
 |
Nick Raquet 70 | R/L | 6′ 0″ | 215 | 12/12/1995 |
 |
Sem Robberse 61 | R/R | 6′ 1″ | 195 | 10/12/2001 |
 |
Tekoah Roby 38 | R/R | 6′ 1″ | 210 | 09/18/2001 |
 |
JoJo Romero 59 | L/L | 5′ 11″ | 215 | 09/09/1996 |
 |
Chris Roycroft 58 | R/R | 6′ 8″ | 230 | 06/21/1997 |
 |
Matt Svanson 49 | R/R | 6′ 5″ | 235 | 01/31/1999 |
| Catchers | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |
 |
Leonardo Bernal | S/R | 6′ 0″ | 245 | 02/13/2004 |
 |
Jimmy Crooks 8 | L/R | 6′ 0″ | 230 | 07/19/2001 |
 |
Iván Herrera 48 | R/R | 5′ 11″ | 220 | 06/01/2000 |
 |
Pedro Pagés 43 | R/R | 5′ 11″ | 245 | 09/17/1998 |
 |
Yohel Pozo 63 | R/R | 5′ 11″ | 201 | 06/14/1997 |
| Infielders | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |
 |
Nolan Arenado 28 | R/R | 6′ 2″ | 215 | 04/16/1991 |
 |
Alec Burleson 41 | L/L | 6′ 0″ | 225 | 11/25/1998 |
 |
Willson Contreras 40 | R/R | 6′ 1″ | 240 | 05/13/1992 |
 |
Brendan Donovan 33 | L/R | 5′ 11″ | 210 | 01/16/1997 |
 |
José Fermín 15 | R/R | 5′ 10″ | 198 | 03/29/1999 |
 |
Nolan Gorman 16 | L/R | 6′ 0″ | 225 | 05/10/2000 |
 |
César Prieto 31 | L/R | 5′ 9″ | 195 | 05/10/1999 |
 |
Thomas Saggese 25 | R/R | 5′ 11″ | 185 | 04/10/2002 |
 |
Masyn Winn 0 | R/R | 5′ 9″ | 185 | 03/21/2002 |
| Outfielders | B/T | Ht | Wt | DOB | |
 |
Joshua Baez 16 | R/R | 6′ 3″ | 220 | 06/28/2003 |
 |
Nathan Church 27 | L/L | 5′ 10″ | 180 | 07/12/2000 |
 |
Matt Koperniak 29 | L/R | 6′ 0″ | 208 | 02/08/1998 |
 |
Lars Nootbaar 21 | L/R | 6′ 1″ | 205 | 09/08/1997 |
 |
Victor Scott II 11 | L/L | 5′ 11″ | 190 | 02/12/2001 |
 |
Bryan Torres | L/R | 5′ 7″ | 165 | 07/02/1997 |
 |
Jordan Walker 18 | R/R | 6′ 6″ | 250 | 05/22/2002 |
