Cardinals' young slugger could answer massive question during World Baseball Classic

Now that 2026 is officially here, the countdown to Spring Training is on. For the St. Louis Cardinals, that means working through a roster that may be full of youngsters fighting for open spots. While that time period will be massive for a few of those guys looking to make an impression on the coaching staff, the Cardinals will be without some of their usual players thanks to the World Baseball Classic taking place March 5-17.

Ivan Herrera will play for Team Panama in the World Baseball Classic

During the last World Baseball Classic, the Cardinals were missing a total of 19 players from the organization as they represented 12 different countries. Events like the WBC are massive opportunities for players to show their national pride and I, personally, believe the Cardinals did the right thing by allowing them to miss that important exhibition time. Others may disagree, especially as we saw players like Adam Wainwright fight injuries sustained during the games while some younger players missed quality time with the big league coaching staff.

The last point could continue again this year as the latest St. Louis participant to be announced for the March tournament is Ivan Herrera, who will be representing his home country of Panama. Signed as an international free agent in 2016, Herrera made his way into national headlines this season thanks to a three-homer game early in the season that created visions of the catcher budding into the Cardinals' next great hitter. The catching, though, seemed to bite the Panamanian in multiple instances.

Herrera, 25, came into the year with concerns about his defensive abilities behind the plate and he did little to put an end to the conversations about him moving off the position. He was healthy for a total of 107 games thanks to some lower-body injuries that may or may not have been sustained while catching. These maladies, along with his continued inability to handle baserunners, forced the Cardinals to bring Herrera back as a DH, although there was some chatter about him playing some outfield since the organization is looking for a power hitter in the outfield. At the end of this season, Herrera also underwent surgery on his right elbow but he is expected to be fully recovered in time for Spring Training. During his time in Jupiter, Herrera will be receiving every opportunity to take back the catcher position and work his way back into at least a majority time share behind the plate. The Cardinals could get their answer sooner rather than later in March thanks to the WBC.

While not confirmed, there is a possibility that Herrera ends up catching for Team Panama during the two-week stretch of games. At that point, the Cardinals will have only seen Herrera working with the pitching staff for a couple of weeks after pitchers and catchers report to camp. While that gives them time to work on the fundamentals, they may only have the opportunity to see him in live game action a couple of times before he leaves for the WBC. The tournament is full-go as soon as it starts, meaning that Herrera and all of the other participating players must be in game shape when it begins. That means that he will have to be fully healthy and competent as soon as the event kicks off if he expects to catch in big games.

These higher stress moments than a back field game in Florida could end up being a good thing for Oliver Marmol and the rest of his coaching staff. When Herrera returns from the WBC, he will have handled a variety of pitchers at a high level, likely with the opportunity to throw a runner or two out on the bases. The biggest thing working against Herrera, though, is the fact he will miss time to work with the St. Louis staff, but he should be able to catch up in the week or two he is back before the regular season begins.