The St. Louis Cardinals made several roster moves across their minor league affiliates on Thursday, highlighted by the release of a top draft selection.
Right-handed pitcher, who was chosen by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft, has been granted his unconditional release after spending six seasons climbing the organization’s farm system. Despite reaching Triple-A Memphis, the 26-year-old never earned a promotion to the major leagues.
As part of most recent transactions, the Cardinals also announced several promotions, injury updates, and rehab assignment changes throughout the organization.
The club revealed that right-hander Brandt Thompson has been promoted from Double-A Springfield to Triple-A Memphis. Outfielder Travis Honeyman was placed on the seven-day injured list at Double-A, while infielder Trey Paige was activated from the Development List and returned to Springfield’s roster.
In addition, right-hander Keiverson RamÃrez was promoted from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Palm Beach. Left-hander Ixan Henderson and right-hander Joseph King both had their rehab assignments transferred from the FCL to Palm Beach as they continue their recoveries.
The most notable move, however, was the organization’s decision to part ways with Bedell.
Drafted out of the University of Missouri in 2020, Bedell entered professional baseball with considerable expectations. His development was delayed, and he made only two appearances during his first professional season in 2021 with High-A Peoria.
He enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023, emerging as one of the organization’s more promising pitching prospects. Across 27 appearances, including 19 starts for High-A Peoria, Bedell posted an impressive 2.44 ERA over 96 innings, showcasing the command and consistency that once made him one of the Cardinals’ rising arms.
That strong performance earned him a promotion through the system. In 2024, he divided his season between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis before spending the majority of 2025 at the Triple-A level.
Unfortunately, the 2026 season proved to be a difficult one. Bedell appeared in 11 games, including one start, for Memphis and struggled to find consistency, recording an 11.78 ERA over 18 1/3 innings. Those struggles ultimately led to Thursday’s release.
Although his Cardinals tenure has come to an end, Bedell remains an intriguing option for other organizations. At just 26 years old, he has already reached Triple-A and previously demonstrated the ability to dominate upper-level minor league competition. He was ranked as the Cardinals’ No. 20 prospect entering the 2024 season before slipping to No. 26 the following year, suggesting that evaluators once viewed him as a potential major league contributor.
Given his age, pedigree, and past success, it would not be surprising if another club offered him a minor league contract in hopes of helping him rediscover the form that made him one of St. Louis’ more promising pitching prospects.
While the move carries little immediate impact for the Cardinals’ major league roster, it marks the end of a six-year chapter for a pitcher who once appeared to be on the verge of reaching Busch Stadium. With St. Louis continuing to search for pitching depth, Bedell simply never developed into an option the club felt was ready to contribute at the big league level.