Oli Marmol pours cold water over fan call for Cardinals catching shakeup

The St. Louis Cardinals have pushed all the right buttons since Chaim Bloom has taken over as lead decision-maker. From focusing on high-powered pitching in the draft and dealing veterans in exchange for cost-controlled arms, there should be minimal complaints about how he has handled the roster churn in the first year of the rebuild. This has created the opportunity to nitpick at any spot that has been underperforming, which has fans believing that we have seen enough of the current catching trio and it is due for an upgrade.

The desired upgrade for Cardinal Nation would be calling up catching prospect Jimmy Crooks and altering the catching alignment to have Crooks, Ivan Herrera, and Pedro Pages handling pitches with the thought that Pages could eventually be phased out for the upcoming influx of catching talent. While Rainiel Rodriguez has gotten plenty of the deserved attention, Crooks has taken his offense to another level with Triple-A Memphis and when compared to the offensive output of Pages, it seems like a no-brainer that Crooks should be in the bigs.

Cardinals fans should not expect any changes to their current catching setup in the near future

Among 35 catchers who have had at least 100 plate appearances, Pedro Pages checks in as the 15th-best catcher in baseball by measure of fWAR. That ranking, though, is bolstered by his above-average defense we have heard him be applauded for. Offensively, Pages checks in at 22nd on the leaderboard among catchers that have at least 100 plate appearances with a 73 wRC+ and a .208 batting average. If this output remains, this will be the third consecutive season that Pages has seen his offense decline and is on pace for his worst offensive season since coming up to the majors. Despite the negative value bat, there does not appear to be any adjustments to the roster on the horizon.

In a recent interview with BK and Ferrario on 101 ESPN, manager Oli Marmol is ecstatic about the current setup, but also excited about the future of Jimmy Crooks. With the Cardinals currently sitting in playoff position, being upset about anything this year is like grasping at straws, but the frustration with Pages when there appears to be a stronger option available is understandable. Marmol agrees with the fans, saying the Crooks has the potential to be an impact bat, but the things Pages does well do not always show up on the stat sheet. With his preparation and defensive abilities, the starting rotation has performed better than expected albeit with the occasional frustrating at-bats we get from Pages.

With Memphis this year, Crooks has evolved into a different type of hitter than he was last year. While the strikeouts remain a concern, he has trimmed his K-rate in recent weeks while not giving up power or plate discipline. Through 35 games, the lefty catcher has the highest walk rate of his career at a phenomenal 17.2%, more than double what he put up last season in Triple-A. He has also popped 13 homers already, just one away from his career high, but even with this great start, Crooks will have to wait to get the call back up to the majors.

The clubhouse vibes are immaculate in St. Louis right now and guys like Pages, Pozo, and Herrera are part of the reason for that. As our fan expectations shift from .500 to the postseason, it is understandable to want the best hitting lineup every day, but the things that do not show up in the box score may be more important for this iteration of Cardinals team right now.

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