Another breakout backstop further complicates Cardinals' catching dynamics

The St. Louis Cardinals' catching pipeline is the subject of envy throughout baseball. The recently promoted Jimmy Crooks was knocking the stuffing out the ball in Triple-A Memphis, and Rainiel Rodriguez ascended to No. 2 in MLB Pipeline's top Cardinals prospects while tearing through High-A Peoria. That's left the third player in the Cardinals' promising catching trio to languish in comparative anonymity, but that may change soon, as Leo Bernal has begun to find his groove in Memphis.

Bernal started off the season sluggishly, hitting .238 with a .658 OPS in 84 at-bats from the start of the Triple-A season through April 30. But the beginning of May marked the start of a turnaround for Bernal, as he has hit .292 with a .902 OPS since May 1.

The Cardinals' fifth-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline, Bernal wields a fine mitt to complement his increasingly potent bat. In 2025, he won the Minor League Gold Glove Award for catchers, a season in which he caught 39.1% of attempted basestealers, good for fourth-best among minor league catchers with at least 600 innings behind the plate.

The Cardinals' catching puzzle is a tough one to solve

When the Cardinals added Crooks to the mix at the expense of Yohel Pozo, it further muddied the already opaque waters of the team's catching situation. Pozo's scant playing time signified that the Cardinals see him as a disposable piece; on the other hand, the team clearly believes there's more meat on the bone for Crooks, as manager Oli Marmol acknowledged that he would receive the majority of starts behind the plate at the expense of Pedro Pagés.

That's all without factoring Iván Herrera into the equation. Herrera is the Cardinals' primary designated hitter, but he's usually in harness when Michael McGreevy and Andre Pallante are on the mound. Herrera's threatening bat means he isn't going anywhere despite a complete inability to control the running game — he's failed to catch a single runner in the 16 steals attempted against him.

Since Bernal is on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals could theoretically promote him to the majors at any time, but the club would likely pivot back to the more experienced Pozo should Crooks, Herrera or Pagés succumb to injury. Bernal's recent surge is promising, but the Cardinals may want the 22-year-old to prove he can continue to contribute in the minors throughout the season.

There has been plenty of chatter about whether the Cardinals should deal from their surplus of catching talent, with many fans landing on Crooks as the ideal trade chip since Pagés is largely seen as lacking upside and Rodriguez is nearing "untouchable" status. Bernal could be wrestling his way into the trade candidate conversation as well, as several teams around the league are desperately searching for catching depth.

It's not unthinkable that the Cardinals could unload multiple catchers at the trade deadline and enter the latter portion of the season with Herrera and only one of Pagés, Crooks and Bernal. Pagés seems likely to be flipped, as the Cardinals clearly don't see him as part of their future, and he could slot in as a valuable backup for a contending team. Bernal's emergence as another valuable trade commodity will only help the Cardinals as they barter with other clubs to obtain the strongest prospect package possible.

It's hard to fathom that the Cardinals' talent behind the dish could be even better than it was when the season kicked off, but Bernal's spike in production has provided yet another catching cushion for the team. Whether it's ultimately Crooks or Bernal who receives a send-off, the Cardinals should still have plenty of options to provide stability at a position that teams are always scrambling to upgrade.

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