The Cardinals are wise to plan on shopping their catchers in trades this offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals have four MLB-ready catchers on their 40-man roster right now, and considering how hard it is to find a quality backstop, that puts them in an excellent position this offseason.

Cardinals fans have been wondering for well over a year now how the club will handle the catchers they have on their roster. Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages were joined by Jimmy Crooks and Leo Bernal as the 2026 season went on, and Bernal seems to have established himself as the club's primary catcher moving forward. While the Cardinals utilized three catchers on their roster most of the season, it is fair to wonder how that group will truly shake out long-term.

In a recent "Ask Goold" over on STL Today, Derrick Goold addressed the Cardinals' plans this offseason with their growing group of MLB-ready catchers, stating that they'll explore trades with three of their current options.

"The same can be said about trades involving catchers," wrote Goold. "The Cardinals will explore trades involving catchers Pedro Pages, Ivan Herrera, and Jimmy Crooks in the coming months. That’s going to be part of their winter ahead of the CBA. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will pull off a trade, but expect them to at least engage in some discussions about those catchers. They’ll want to see who is interested and what they can get in return."

The Cardinals can really help their rebuild by capitalizing on the trade value of a catcher this offseason

All three of those catchers carry different trade values for St. Louis, but each of them could help the Cardinals acquire more talent in interesting ways.

Pages has the lowest value of the bunch, but is still a cost-controlled backup catcher option for teams who want someone who can really help their pitching staff. While that's not going to net a huge return, the Cardinals could take a flyer on a prospect for Pages and clear more playing time for their other young catchers.

Herrera has the highest value of the bunch and may be able to get the Cardinals a haul in return, given how good his bat is when he's on. I would not bet on Herrera being traded this offseason, but I certainly won't rule it out either if teams make aggressive offers.

The name that makes the most sense to me to shop for the Cardinals is Crooks, who still holds real potential as an everyday catcher but doesn't seem to have a chance to do that in St. Louis long-term. Bernal has clearly overtaken him on the depth chart, the Cardinals seem committed to Herrera catching some, and Rainiel Rodriguez is coming.

The Cardinals reportedly listened to offers on Crooks at the trade deadline, and I expect them to do the same this offseason.

St. Louis does not have to make a deal this offseason if the right offer is not there. They can easily go into camp with all four of those catchers, plus Rodriguez, and find a way to work with all of them. If Crooks proves he's ready to be on the MLB roster again, he and Bernal can split time at catcher, sprinkling in Herrera there some times, with those guys getting some starts at designated hitter and first base as well. If Crooks doesn't make the roster, he can split reps with Rodriguez in Memphis, much like he did with Bernal most of 2026.

But if the right deal is there, it makes sense to pounce. Herrera could get them a ton of prospect capital or be a part of adding an impact starter to their rotation. Crooks could also net prospects or be packaged for a starter. Pages could bring in some helpful organizational depth. But the Cardinals do not have to feel pressure to make a deal yet.

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