Cardinals: Latest updates on rumored catching targets for St. Louis

Lower tier options the Cardinals could pursue

If the Cardinals do not end up going for one of the top tier options on the free agent or trade market, there are a variety of names that they continue to be linked to.

Heyman, in his same story about Contreras, linked the Cardinals to Christian Vazquez and Mike Zunino along with Jansen and Murphy. Vazquez and Zunino would represent quality stop-gap options for the club as they wait for Ivan Herrera to develop into the long-term solution for the club.

Even lower on the totem pole of options, the likes of Omar Narvaez, Martin Maldonado, Tucker Barnhart have been linked to St. Louis as free agents and Katie Woo suggested James McCann as an option. It would really surprise no one if the Cardinals ended up getting one of these lower tier options, but with all the smoke about so many upper tier catchers, it would really be a huge disappointment.

The Cardinals need an upgrade to their offense, and with multiple options at catcher who can do that, it just seems too perfect for St. Louis to grab one of the big names on the market. It’s one thing if there was only one big option available to compete for and the Cardinals were outbid, but St. Louis has no excuse not to make a splash here.