6 young players the Cardinals need to prioritize playing time for down the stretch

Ivan Herrera

Believe it or not, the Cardinals are out of option years with Ivan Herrera going into the 2025 season. That means if the Cardinals decide to demote Herrera next season, he must clear waivers first.

So basically, the Cardinals need to know what they are doing with Herrera next year. If he is with the team, he needs to be the primary backup to Willson Contreras. If they still do not trust him in that role, then he likely needs to be dealt to capitalize on his value.

Well, the Cardinals have continued to prioritize playing time for Pedro Pages this season, and even as someone who likes Pages, I see that as a foolish way to handle the roster down the stretch. Herrera's ceiling is so much higher than Pages' offensively and Herrera has shown the tools needed (aside from arm strength) to be a more than competent catcher behind the plate.

Herrera needs time behind the plate to develop, and the Cardinals need to figure out how much they value his bat. Frankly, they also need to market his bat to other teams as well in case they decide to move on from him. I really think the Cardinals would be doing themselves a disservice by moving Herrera this offseason, but if it is in the range of outcomes, then they need to do everything they can to prop him up as an asset.

In order to do that, Herrera should handle the bulk of the catching duties down the stretch and maybe get some designated hitter opportunities as needed as well. Anything Oli Marmol can do to fit him in the lineup must be done at this point.

Willson Contreras took major strides forward this year defensively, but even when he was healthy, we saw how frequently the Cardinals utilized the backup catcher on their roster. Contreras is not going to start catching more often as he gets older, so having a young catcher who you trust to play a lot will be key moving forward. Pages does enough defensively to be likable as a backup, but Herrera can do enough to wow in that role. The Cardinals need to see if he can be that for them, or market him to a team who believes he will for them.