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A year ago, the Cardinals made three additions to their 40-man roster by adding pitching prospects Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse 鈥� both of whom were acquired months prior in the Jordan Hicks trade with the Blue Jays 鈥� and catching prospect Pedro Pages. Kloffenstein and Pages both reached the majors in 2024 while Robberse spent the year in Class AAA.

Players who signed at 18 years or younger must be added to a club鈥檚 40-man roster within five seasons. Players signed at 19 years or older must be added within four seasons to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.

As of Monday, the Cardinals had 36 players on their 40-man roster.

Ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 deadline, these Cardinals prospects highlight the group would need protection from December鈥檚 Rule 5 draft:

Tink Hence

Hence, the Cardinals鈥� top pitching prospect at the start of 2024, spent this past season in Class AA after reaching the level midway through the 2023 season. Despite injury limitations, the 22-year-old right-hander was named Texas League pitcher of the year after posting a 2.71 ERA and striking out 109 batters in 79 2/3 innings. Hence sported a 3.14 ERA and a 4.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio through his first 10 starts before exiting a June 5 start early due to injury. He returned to the mound on June 23 but had that start cut short, too. Hence missed over a month as he recovered from what he described as fatigue and back discomfort. Following his July 27 return, the righty steadily increased his workload as he maintained a 1.52 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 23 2/3 innings across seven starts. He exited a Sept. 11 start early for what appeared to be an injury concern after completing 1 1/3 innings on 29 pitches. The Sept. 11 outing was the final outing for Hence in 2024. The expectation is that Hence will be added to the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 deadline.

Tekoah Roby

Ranked at the start of 2024 as the second-best Cardinals pitching prospect behind Hence, Roby was acquired by the Cardinals at the 2023 trade deadline in a move that sent pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to the Rangers and brought Roby, infielder Thomas Saggese, and reliever John King to the Cardinals. Roby, 23, opened the year with Class AA Springfield and was limited because of a shoulder injury for a second consecutive season. On the year, the right-hander logged 38 1/3 innings in 10 appearances. While in Class AA, Roby held a 6.75 ERA, struck out 33 batters, and walked 12. He allowed 10 home runs through seven starts before the shoulder injury shelved him in mid-May. Roby did not return to Springfield鈥檚 roster before the end of the season but did throw five innings across three rehab appearances in Class Low-A. Like Hence, Roby is expected to receive roster protection from the Rule 5 draft.

Matt Koperniak

A former undrafted free agent, the 26-year-old Koperniak has batted .298 with a .373 on-base percentage, and a .461 slugging percentage through four minor league seasons. This past season, Koperniak, who plays all three outfield positions, slashed .309/.370/.512 in 122 games for Class AAA Memphis. The left-handed hitting outfielder set career-highs in homers (20), doubles (28), on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. The former Division III product had the sixth-highest batting average and the 13th-highest on-base plus slugging percentage (.882) among qualified Class AAA hitters in 2024. The offensive success earned him International League All-Star honors as a designated hitter. Koperniak has primarily played left field for his career. He made 64 starts in left field this past season while making 31 starts in right field and 23 in center field. Koperniak notched three outfield assists as a left fielder, three in center field, and one in right field during the 2024 campaign. He was not charged with an error in 127 total chances as a left fielder. Koperniak was unprotected from the Rule 5 draft last winter. He went unselected.

Matt Svanson

Svanson, 25, arrived in the Cardinals organization in 2023 after being traded from the Blue Jays in the Paul DeJong deal. During his first full season, the right-handed reliever had a 2.69 ERA in 63 2/3 innings and was 27-for-27 in save attempts for a Class AA Springfield club that set a franchise record for wins with 79. The regular season success earned him Texas League All-Star honors and an invite to the Arizona Fall League. Svanson made nine appearances during the AFL. He posted a 5.91 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. He struck out 15 of the 45 batters he faced, issued two walks, and allowed three home runs 鈥� two of which came in his final outing 鈥� after allowing four homers in 63 2/3 innings for Springfield.

Ian Bedell

Bedell, 25, is Rule 5 eligible for a second consecutive season. Bedell split time in 2024 with Class AA Springfield and Class AAA Memphis. He tossed a career-high 107 2/3 innings despite being limited to four innings across two appearances in August and September because of an unspecified injury. The righty, who the Cardinals drafted in 2020 out of Mizzou, posted a 4.85 ERA in 21 games (19 starts) and struck out 110 batters between the two levels. He kept opposing hitters to a .220 batting average between Class AA and Class AAA but allowed 22 home runs 鈥� 12 of which came in 64 2/3 innings in Class AA. Following his promotion to Class AAA in the final two weeks of June, Bedell鈥檚 walk rate jumped from 2.64 with Springfield to 5.02 with Memphis. While the use of his fastball, changeup, and curveball collectively kept Class AAA hitters to a .188 batting average, Class AAA hitters produced a .379 average when offering at the right-hander鈥檚 slider, per Statcast.

Some other notable Cardinals prospects that are Rule 5 eligible and would need roster protection:

Infielders Chandler Redmond, Jeremy Rivas, and Noah Mendlinger, outfielder Mike Antico, Right-handers Andre Granillo, Edwin Nunez, Inohan Paniagua, Austin Love, Zane Mills, Darlin Saladin, Trent Baker, and Andrew Marrero, and left-hander Alex Cornwell.