3 perplexing questions the Cardinals must answer

Regardless of success, the record, and irrespective of who’s in charge, every team will have questions. The St. Louis Cardinals are no strangers to this reality. 

Below are three perplexing Q’s the Cardinals will need to find A’s for sooner rather than later. 

How will the Cardinals handle their catching corps?

This is easily the most intriguing question St. Louis has on its hands right now. 

Before Chaim Bloom took over the Redbird reins, the Cardinals had long struggled with a junk-drawer roster, if you will–lots of options, not enough opportunities.

The former regime met this dilemma in the same way Ivan Herrera treats a three-ball count: they waited for a good one. The waiting game can be fun if it ends in a payoff. Otherwise, it’s dead money and wasted time. Teams can recoup their money, but nobody can rekindle time. 

The list of options behind the dish in 2026 is expansive. If you add to that list players who are likely to be in the mix moving forward, it becomes less of a list and more of a dictionary. 

Raniel Rodriguez, Leo Bernal, Jimmy Crooks, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, and Yohel Pozo are the current frontrunners for playing time at the catcher position. Each player has their own attributes, either aiding or weighing them down. 

Rodriguez is by far the most exciting of all the names. His prodigious power is a rarity from the catcher position, and even more of a diamond in the rough for a TEENAGER. 

Recently, Rodriguez smacked two home runs at Double-A Springfield. Both on hangers left over the plate that he naturally deposited beyond the left field wall. 

The youngster’s only vice is that analysts are hesitant to claim he’ll stick behind the plate. He grades out as a below-average defender, and with such a prolific power tool, St. Louis would be foolish to keep him out of the lineup. 

Crooks is currently at the big league level. He’s the best mix of offense and defense that Cardinal catchers have come to offer. His calling card? He hasn’t put things together in The Show. 

In his cup of coffee, the 24-year-old has a minuscule .488 OPS across 70 at-bats. It’s tiny, but it’s all fans, and the organization has to go off. 

Herrera is similar to Rodriguez. His bat keeps him in the lineup. He finds results differently, with a much less power-oriented approach. However, today (June 13th), he launched two mammoth blasts against the Minnesota Twins en route to a 9-6 victory. 

Herrera's innate flaw comes behind the dish. He's struggled to throw out runners, block pitches, and as he's clearly an athlete, the question surfaces on if he's being best used as a catcher. No base stealer has been thrown out by Herrera since last season, which on its own is a red flag.

Bernal is the quietest of the bunch. Slowly but surely, he’s trudged through the minor leagues, and now, with a recent hot streak, he’s knocking on MLB’s door. 

His best offering is his defense. Scouts have always discussed Bernal as a catcher-to-be and commend his talented throwing arm. Unfortunately, other than recency bias, Bernal’s bat has lagged. 

Pages and Pozo are both backups. There’s nothing wrong with that role. Pages suits it very well, and Pozo’s pinch-hit antics have given Cardinals fans more chills than they could’ve ever asked for. 

Unfortunately, their roster spots are in high demand, and the kids are coming. 

Who should be the Cardinals' long-term closer? 

This question isn’t necessarily as pressing as the prior. Relievers fluctuate like Xbox batteries. 

However, the Cardinals have found themselves sprung into surprise competitiveness. With that being the case, the ninth inning is no longer an experiment: it's a demand. 

This season, Riley O’Brien started with a symphony of saves. He couldn’t be stopped. Then, the unstoppable force clashed with the movable object–and lost. 

Nick Castellanos hit a game-tying home run off O’Brien on May 10th. Since then, he hasn’t been the same pitcher. 

O’Brien ended May with a 6.30 ERA in the month, and through June 13th, he’s sporting a 7.20 ERA this month. Ouch. 

It’s funny, a lot of people forget that on the Redbirds electric opening day win, Ryne Stanek closed things out. 

That option went out the window a WHILE ago, which is sad to say, as the Missouri native is nothing but fun when he’s going right. Unfortunately, in the recent Twins series, Stanek did his best batting-practice audition and served up three home runs in game one to Minnesota in less than two innings of work. 

Matt Svanson, who entered this season as the favorite for the closer job, has a 7.85 ERA. No fluff, no metrics, no noise. 7.85. 

St. Louis doesn’t HAVE to solve this problem right now, but relying on free agency to produce a shutdown closer has been a plague in recent times. 

St. Louis native Devin Williams, although unhittable against the Cardinals, has been a disastrous contract for the Mets thus far. Additionally, year one of Tanner Scott in Los Angeles wasn’t as promised, and the more recent Dodger signing, Edwin Diaz, pitched poorly, got injured, and was then accused of illegal cock-fighting. What is going on??? Let’s stay internal for a closer, maybe. 

Should the Cardinals extend JJ Wetherholt? 

“YES! They have to! He’s the future of the franchise!” 

Regardless of whether I agree with this notion, here are the facts. 

Wetherholt is a 23-year-old phenom who’s on pace for a near seven-WAR rookie campaign. 

His second base defense was doubted–it’s now elite. Pitchers attacked him with high fastballs early–he’s now crushing them. The league turned to splitters and changeups–he’s worked through that, too. 

Wetherholt is constantly changing. He’s adapting. And unlike most Cardinals’ rookies in recent years, he’s thriving. 

The reality of the situation is that a contract extension is a two-headed dragon. One head looks a lot like Chaim Bloom and Bill Dewitt III had a child, and the other looks like Wetherholt. If The Lou wants Wetherbolts sailing into shirtless crowds for years to come, it’ll be a mutual agreement, not a one-sided offering. 

St. Louis hasn’t seen a rookie like Wetherholt since Albert Pujols. The maturity and poise he carries himself with on a baseball field turn the heads of entire stadiums. In addition to his success, he’s a top pick from a big-time university, with an elite pedigree. This isn’t a Pujols situation where the Redbirds scouted and found a diamond in the rough–it’s to be expected. 

With that being the case, Wetherholt isn’t so likely to cozy up to St. Louis on a whim. If Chaim Bloom and Co. want to retain him for the long haul, it’ll take the big bucks. And the fact of the matter is, fans have yet to see a contract from the Cardinals that would net Wetherholt’s commitment to the team. 

This isn’t the Cardinals' most pressing question, but it’s definitely the one that’s got fans in a twist. 

Every team has an excess of questions to answer. There’s no escaping the animal that is Major League Baseball. The Cardinals don’t have to figure everything out all at once–they need to chip away until they see light on the other end of the tunnel, and a World Series trophy on the horizon.

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