Cardinals tease major changes to roster in future with Ivan Herrera's new position

If you saw the lineup card posted for this evening's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins, you may have noticed "LF" by Ivan Herrera's name. That was no mistake!

The Cardinals are giving Herrera his first career start in the outfield this evening, a move that's been in the making for quite some time as the Cardinals have shifted catching duties away from Herrera and explored what a new position for him could look like in 2025 and potentially beyond.

Ivan Herrera starting in left field for the Cardinals is another sign of major changes on the horizon for the Cardinals

When Herrera returned from his injury earlier this month, manager Oliver Marmol stated that Herrera would likely not catch again for them in 2025, and while he wasn't ready to comment on the future of Herrera behind the plate beyond this season, he did let us know that Herrera had been getting work in the outfield and the Cardinals were hopeful to be able to see him out there some this year.

While it probably would have been better for Herrera to have the rest of this season and the offseason to learn the position before actual game time, Herrera is very athletic for a catcher and has the tools to handle himself in the outfield, given time. Well, if this truly is a lost season for St. Louis in terms of contention, it makes sense to go ahead and allow Herrera time to work on the position with real game reps.

What this does continue to communicate to those following the team is that there will be roster turnover between now and Opening Day 2026, and I'm not just talking about trading away veterans on expiring contracts. Assuming Herrera is not going to be the Cardinals catcher moving forward, the corner outfield spots have quite the logjam brewing between Herrera, Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar. JJ Wetherholt's debut is fast approaching, which is a major part of this roster dilemma as well.

Herrera has been one of the best bats in baseball this year, with his 150 wRC+ ranking 10th in all of baseball among hitters with at least 200 plate appearances. He's slashing .313/.388/.495 on the season, and even if regression comes and he's more of a 125-135 wRC+ bat, that's a major revelation for the Cardinals' lineup moving forward.

While that kind of bat behind the plate could make him an MVP candidate, Herrera has struggled to develop as a defensive catcher, and even if there is hope that he can figure things out there long term, he's battled injuries that continue to keep him out of the lineup. Will those injuries stop with him moving out from behind the plate? Only time will tell, but the Cardinals seem to believe that catching is adding to the problem.

While Herrera can just DH for the club long term, it would be far more ideal if he could have a defensive home, considering he has the athleticism to do so, and it also allows the Cardinals more flexibility with that DH spot. Either way, the Cardinals are going to have to clear some of this logjam at the trade deadline or this offseason.