The player César Prieto returned to the Memphis Redbirds after the St. Louis Cardinals sent him to Triple-A this Tuesday, marking the end of his third stint with the Major League team this season.
The team decided on the move after activating shortstop Masyn Winn from the 10-day injured list, where he had been since late August due to a fracture in his left thumb.
Winn took Prieto's place on the active roster of St. Louis, thus closing the window that had allowed the Cuban his third call-up to the big team.
The infielder from Cienfuegos had been called up from Memphis on August 30, but opportunities were few: just two games and two plate appearances in a little over a week.
In one of those appearances, he hit a ground ball to second base; in the other, he drew a walk, failing to showcase the skills that have made him one of the most productive hitters in Triple A.
The 2026 season in Major League Baseball has been frustrating for Prieto in terms of statistics: 32 at-bats, just 2 hits, and an average of .063, without home runs or runs batted in during his three combined stints.
The contrast with his performance in Triple-A couldn't be more pronounced.
With the Memphis Redbirds in 2026, the 27-year-old Cuban has achieved a line of .308/.367/.505, with 12 home runs and 43 runs batted in over 335 plate appearances, numbers that place him among the best hitters in his category.
This outstanding production pattern in the minors, without managing to secure a position in elite baseball, has characterized the entire season for Prieto, who was called up by St. Louis on May 4, August 4, and August 30, without being able to stay permanently on any of those occasions.
The Cuban made his Major League debut on August 29, 2025, becoming the 33rd Cuban player to appear in a regular MLB season after defecting from the national team in May 2021 during the Olympic qualifying event in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Originally signed by the Baltimore Orioles and traded to the Cardinals organization in 2023, Prieto has been trying for two seasons to make the definitive jump to the Major Leagues without success.
At the end of 2025, the manager of the Cardinals expressed optimism about the future of the Cuban player, but the current season has shown that the gap between his level in Triple-A and his performance in MLB remains the main obstacle to his establishment in Major League Baseball.
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