The St. Louis Cardinals filled out their 40-man roster on Friday afternoon, claiming infielder Bryan Ramos off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.

The Cardinals announced the move on social media.

Here’s what you need to know:

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Just 23 years old, Ramos is a native of Cuba. He made his major league debut in 2024 with the Chicago White Sox, hitting .202 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 32 games. He played just four games in 2025, hitting .167 with two RBIs.

He’s been more successful in the minor leagues, hitting .249 with 80 career homers in 560 games.

Well, if he couldn’t stick with the woeful White Sox for the last two seasons, that’s not a great indicator of his chances of sticking anywhere. That said, he’s just 24 years old and clearly has talent. Perhaps the Cardinals, another rebuilding group, are the team to give him a runway to find success.

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After trading Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan, the Cardinals have openings in the infield, but with Nolan Gorman, Thomas Saggese, Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt in the fold, it could still be a tough group to crack.

It’s certainly worth a try by Chaim Bloom, who is now running the St. Louis front office. He uncovered the likes of Garrett Whitlock in Boston, so he has experience taking afterthought players and turning them into useful big league pieces.

The World Baseball Classic rosters were officially announced on Thursday night. The 20-team tournament kicks off on March 5 and will be hosted at various sites around the world. Team Japan is the reigning champion. The Cardinals will have 10 players representing the organization on the international stage, but only six are on the 40-man roster.

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1) Riley O’Brien (Korea)

2) Thomas Saggese (Italy)

3) Ivan Herrera (Panama)

4) Leonardo Bernal (Panama)

5) Matt Koperniak (Great Britain)

6) Luis Gastelum (Mexico)

7) Zach Levenson (Israel)

8) Noah Mendlinger (Israel)

9) Gordon Graceffo (Italy)

10) Bryan Torres (Puerto Rico)

Playing in the World Baseball Classic is a great honor, but it can come with a price for teams who see players leave amid evaluations and roster battles. And it can come at a price for players who don’t get a chance to showcase everything they can do in front of coaches and team staff as they battle for specific roles.

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We took a look at how the WBC impacts the Cardinals this spring here.

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