Cardinals need these 4 players to step up during Ivan Herrera's injury absence

Pedro Pages

While this may be unfair, it is true, especially if Contreras continues to slump through the next month. Pedro Pages was seen as a quality backup catcher who was expected to see more time than most other backups because of Herrera's inability to control the running game along with the team's overall faith in Pages' abilities behind the dish. He has plenty of support from the pitching staff because he can call a good game while also having at least average defensive value as a backstop. Pages was never seen as a major offensive contributor, but he has had a strong start at the plate, with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs in his limited playing time. That RBI total is good for third-best on the team. In Tuesday's game against generational talent Paul Skenes, Pages' line drive single started a three-run rally and he later drove in a big fifth run with an RBI groundout. His key at-bats led to the eventual 5-3 win to end the team's four-game losing streak.

On the defensive side, Pages has caught one runner stealing in four attempts, while Herrera had failed to throw out any of the seven potential base stealers despite attempts at strengthening his throwing arm and changing his mechanics. Even with the month-plus vacancy created by Herrera's injury, the Cardinals opted to hand the starting keys to Pages and called up journeyman catcher Yohel Pozo, who hit a homer in his first game with the team.

Fans, including me, would not have minded if the team called up top catching prospect Jimmy Crooks, who has gotten off to a nice start with Triple-A Memphis, but doing so would start his service time clock, and the team would most likely want Crooks to get starter's innings, where he will continue to do so in the minors. Marmol mentioned as much when asked about Crooks, saying that the team wants to be careful in rushing up prospects before they are ready. The Cardinals' catching depth appears to be a major strength of the organization, and could also create a potential logjam if Herrera is healthy, if Pages holds his own during his audition, and if Crooks continues to perform in Memphis.

While the team needs a major offensive outburst from Contreras to help ease Herrera's loss, the catching performance may not be as much of a priority if the rest of the lineup does their job. Pages' job will first and foremost be to command the pitching staff, and the team will take any offense he provides as a bonus. So far, though, his at-bats have been competitive, and he has shown a little clutch gene with a game-tying double after coming off the bench when Herrera was hurt to go along with his offensive performance against Skenes. With an extended run of at-bats, Pages will look to prove that he is more than a late-game defensive replacement or solid backup. The potential is there, especially with a further look into his career to this point, as Pages hit 16 homers in Double-A in 2023 and was graded as a 45-grade in the power department, so he could end up providing more value with the bat than initially expected.