Opening Day is finally here for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals will play a meaningful baseball game on Thursday afternoon for the first time since Sep. 28 against the Chicago Cubs. That was the 2025 season finale for St. Louis. To make matters worse, the Cardinals got swept by Chicago in a three-game series and lost four games in a row overall to end the 2025 season. Not how you want your season to end. And then Chaim Bloom took over as the team’s president of baseball operations and spent the last few months altering this roster with an eye towards the future.
It’s been a long time coming, but baseball is back and it should be a fun season. The Cardinals are young and hungry to prove themselves. Plus, Cardinals fans are going to get their first glimpse of No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt in a big league game on Thursday. That’s exciting enough. But before the actual games could begin, the Cardinals had to handle a bit of logistics. Early on Thursday morning, the Cardinals announced that five minor leaguers were released from the system: outfielder Andrew Sojka, right-handed pitcher Charles Harrison, outfielder Romtres Cabrera, infielder Yancel Guerrero and infielder Yoerny Junco.
The Cardinals released five on Thursday
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
“The following players have been given their unconditional release: OF Andrew Sojka (A+), RHP Charles Harrison IV (A), OF Romtres Cabrera (FCL), INF Yancel Guerrero (FCL), [and] INF Yoerny Junco (FCL),” the Cardinals announced.
Of the group, Harrison is the most interesting of the prospects released on Thursday. He was a seventh-round pick by the team in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft and is just 24 years old. He made his professional debut in 2024 and only was able to get into three games with the FCL Cardinals. In 2025, he spent time with the FCL Cardinals and with Class-A Palm Beach. Overall, he had a 3.89 ERA in 24 total appearances out of the bullpen, including three saves. He also had 40 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings pitched.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see another team take a chance on him with a minor league deal. Again, he was a seventh-round pick just a few years ago and has been solid down in the minors. At the end of the day, none of these decisions move the needle for St. Louis right now. None of them were on the big league radar quite yet.
