Spring injury could hasten Cardinals catcher's departure from behind the plate

The St. Louis Cardinals are nothing if not stubborn when it comes to Ivan Herrera and allowing him to remain the team's starting catcher. The Cardinals moved him off of the position in June of 2025, putting him at designated hitter and occasionally playing him in the outfield. Herrera is reportedly committed to improving his defense behind the plate, and the team will once again attempt to maximize his value by using him as the starting catcher.

Bumps and bruises are nearly unavoidable when it comes to playing baseball's most demanding position, and Herrera is already experiencing knee inflammation in spring training. Scheduled to start at designated hitter on March 7, Herrera was instead scratched from the lineup and is being reevaluated with a hope to return on March 10 or 11. If the injury lingers, the Cardinals might need to rethink their plans of reinserting Herrera into the catching spot.

Herrera's latest injury could have the Cardinals second-guessing themselves.

Herrera has been among the Cardinals' best hitters over the past two seasons, and he led the team with an .837 OPS in 2025. That production could persuade the Cardinals to move Herrera to a nearly full-time designated hitter role or attempt to convert him to the outfield, but he wouldn't have the level of value in those spots that he would as a catcher. But if the injury history grows and Herrera still struggles with his defense and throwing ability, even after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, the Cardinals might not have a realistic choice.

The Cardinals just sent catcher Jimmy Crooks to Triple-A Memphis, but their preference to carry three catchers could lead them to recall Crooks early in the season to play alongside Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo if Herrera's injury proves more severe or if he doesn't display reasonable improvement at the position. The Cardinals would prefer not to do that given Crooks' need for regular playing time to allow him to develop, and the same goes for catching prospect Leonardo Bernal. The Cardinals could promote one of the less heralded Triple-A catchers, Andy Yerzy or Carlos Linarez, but they'd have to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for that.

The Cardinals hope that future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina will provide Herrera with further instruction on the finer points of the position. Still, it's difficult to teach durability, and the Cardinals may soon have to face a reality where they have to give up the ghost on Herrera's catching because his bat is simply too potent to miss out on for sustained stretches.

Winning isn't the Cardinals' top priority in 2026, so it makes sense to let Herrera sink or swim behind the plate, especially since moving such a young player to a full-time designated hitter role isn't optimal. But it may be the team's best option at some point to find another positional home for the talented hitter before the medical maladies mount and begin to affect his performance where it matters: in the batter's box.