Way-too-early Cardinals Opening Day roster projection

Can you believe that the St. Louis Cardinals are just 12 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Jupiter, Florida for spring training? Even crazier - we are just 55 days away from Opening Day!

When the Cardinals report to camp here in under two weeks, we'll begin to see storylines bubble up and the Cardinals' true intentions with their roster become evident.

Remember 2023, when Tyler O'Neill showed up to camp ready to win the center field job, paving the way for Jordan Walker to make the roster as well? Or when the Cardinals showed up to camp last year and decided they needed veteran depth behind Masyn Winn, prompting them to sign Brandon Crawford? Camp reveals things we did not necessarily see coming, and the same could be true this year, even with their stagnant roster.

I wanted to have some fun today and take a stab at what I believe the Cardinals' Opening Day roster will look like as things currently stand.

Here is my way-to-early Opening Day roster projection for the St. Louis Cardinals

Catcher (2) - Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages

Just missed the cut: Jimmy Crooks III and Gavin Collins

No surprises here. Well, unless you haven't kept up with the Cardinals this offseason and did not know that Willson Contreras is now a first baseman.

Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages will hold down the fort behind the plate in 2025, and how the Cardinals divvy up their playing time will be one of the biggest storylines to watch. Herrera was far and away the better hitter of the two last year (in fact, he was the Cardinals' second-best hitter to only Contreras!), but Pages was clearly preferred by manager Oliver Marmol and the pitching staff when it came to calling games behind the plate.

Cardinals pitchers did average almost a run lower of an ERA with Pages calling pitches, but the concerns around Ivan Herrera's arm strength, which are fair, are not much different with Pages. While the Cardinals pitchers' ability to hold runners may have been a greater issue than we've given them credit for, Pages also struggled to control the running game. If Herrera has made strides in that area this offseason, then there is no reason why he shouldn't be the everyday catcher.

Pages is at worst a quality backup in this league, and I do think he's probably a bottom-tier starting catcher going into 2025. But Herrera has already shown traits at the plate that can make him a top catcher in all of baseball, and while there are a few flaws with his defense, there are also things to like about his ability behind the plate - namely his framing and blocking ability.

If one of those two catchers goes down during the season, we may end up seeing 2024 Texas League MVP and borderline top-100 prospect Jimmy Crooks III make his MLB debut for St. Louis. Crooks has an exciting bat like Herrera but also intrigues scouts with his ability behind the plate.

My guess is that St. Louis will want him to get a lot of seasoning at Memphis before they even use him as an injury replacement, so if something happens to Herrera or Pages in camp or early in the season, we may see Gavin Collins first. Collins, 29, has not made an MLB debut yet either but represents some veteran catching depth in Memphis for St. Louis.