Cardinals News: Ivan Herrera rehabs, Phil Maton's future, and Masyn Winn's new spot

The St. Louis Cardinals are in dire need of adjustments and reinforcements during their recent skid. Luckily for them, changes have been made, and reinforcements are coming. Here's a news roundup of some noteworthy items over the last few days for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Catcher Ivan Herrera is starting his rehab assignment.

When Ivan Herrera went on the 10-day IL nearly four weeks ago due to a bone bruise in his left knee, he led the club with four home runs. A month later and Herrera's four long balls still lead the team despite him not logging a single at-bat in the interim.

According to John Denton, Ivan Herrera is starting a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, May 1st. Herrera will be the Redbirds' designated hitter on Thursday, and he'll catch five innings on Friday. The Cardinals catcher was cleared to start his rehab assignment on Wednesday following running and agility drills.

St. Louis is in desperate need of reinforcements, as the team that was once near the top of all of baseball in various offensive categories has fallen. On April 5th, the Cardinals were second in the league in wRC+, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, and they led the league in batting average. They've since fallen to third in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage, 11th in slugging percentage, and 11th in wRC+.

Herrera's eventual return should help rejuvenate a stagnant offense.

Phil Maton knows his time with his childhood team could be short-lived.

The St. Louis Cardinals' lone offseason signing has paid major dividends for them already. Right-handed reliever Phil Maton was the club's only free-agent acquisition this offseason, and he signed for only $2 million. So far, this appears to be one of the best signings this offseason given his price tag.

Phil Maton has a 2.63 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 13.2 innings. He's been one of Oliver Marmol's most effective relievers during the first month of the year, and he's helped stabilize and otherwise shaky bullpen.

However, Phil Maton knows that his time with his childhood team may be fleeting. If he continues to play at this level and the Cardinals continue to be out of the playoff picture come June, Maton would be one of the trade market's best options. This isn't a comforting idea to the 32-year-old reliever.

“It's a constant reminder that this is baseball and it’s a business,” said Maton of the prospect of being traded down the road.

One of the reasons Maton signed with the Cardinals was his familiarity with the organization. Now that he's had the chance to play with his favorite team growing up, he doesn't want the ride to end. That may not be the case if the Cardinals remain on the outside looking in this summer.

Masyn Winn finds himself in a new spot in the lineup.

Masyn Winn has been Oli Marmol's No. 9 hitter all year so far. He's found his home in that spot so far following a cold start to the year, as he has a .231/.311/.308 slash line. While those numbers aren't ideal, Winn has been excellent over the last 28 days with a .319/.377/.426 slash line.

Marmol opted to reward Winn with a bump in the batting order all the way up to the second spot. This is Winn's first time batting second in his career.

Willson Contreras, Ivan Herrera, and Jordan Walker have all tried their hand at the second spot in the lineup, but to no avail so far. Now, Oli Marmol is trying a different right-handed hitter out between Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan.

Winn wasted no time finding his stroke in the second spot, as he launched a 400-foot home run on the first pitch he saw in the first inning on Wednesday against Brady Singer and the Cincinnati Reds.