Ivan Herrera earns unique Cardinals distinction after disappointing trade deadline

Though it was expected, the Cardinals' miniature sell-off at the trade deadline did bring the end of an era in the bullpen and, in at least one sense, to the entire organization.

Closer Ryan Helsley was one of the four pitchers traded during deadline week by the team—yielding a less-than impressive return—getting shipped to the New York Mets on July 30.

Helsley, originally a fifth-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2015, had just celebrated his one-decade anniversary with the franchise. With him now in the Big Apple, the title of longest-tenured St. Louis Cardinal goes to catcher and designated hitter Iván Herrera, who signed with the team as a 16-year-old international free agent nine years ago.

Iván Herrera becomes longest-tenured Cardinals player following Ryan Helsley trade

Herrera, 25, is now the only player still currently in the organization who was originally signed, drafted or traded for prior to 2018. At 25 years old with 4.5 years of team control remaining, he may hold onto his new title for quite some time, especially if he can continue to produce at the plate.

In 56 games (231 plate appearances this season), the catcher and designated hitter is slashing .299/.381/.473 with nine home runs and equally impressive strikeout (19.5%) and walk (10.4%) rates. His 143 wRC+ ranks first on the team among players with at least 100 plate appearances this season, as does his .854 OPS.

He's settled into the lineup nicely as the No. 2 hitter between leadoff man Brendan Donovan and left fielder Alec Burleson, and he may ready to provide the team more value as he moves off catcher into a backup outfielder role.

Considering that he originally signed just for $200,000 out of Panama, it's safe to say he's lived up to the team's investment in him and stands as a perfect modern-day poster child for the organization's proclivity for developing young talent. Considering that he's under team control through the end of the decade, he'll make for a mighty fine torchbearer as the team eyes its next window of contention.

The next-longest tenured players in the organization are Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, Luken Baker and Kyle Leahy, all of whom were drafted in 2018. Ramon Mendoza, Darlin Moquete, Nathanael Heredia, Dionys Rodriguez, and Angel Cuenca were all international free-agent signings the same year, technically making them tenured for longer, though they didn't join the stateside organization until some time after initially signing.