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Cardinals Announce Surgery For Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Ivan Herrera

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A trio of Cardinals underwent surgical procedures in recent weeks, the team announced Friday. Lars Nootbaar had surgery on both heels, and Brendan Donovan underwent a sports hernia repair on October 7. Ivan Herrera had surgery on his elbow to remove bone spurring on Oct. 15. John Denton of MLB.com was among those to report that Nootbaar’s procedure was to shave down Haglund’s deformities. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was among those to note that the recovery timetables are uncertain.

Nootbaar is coming off his healthiest big-league season. The 28-year-old played a career-high 135 games and topped 500 plate appearances for just the second time. Nootbaar missed a few weeks at the end of July with a rib injury, but that was his only IL stint. He was also sidelined for a brief stretch in August with a knee issue.

While Nootbaar stayed on the field in 2025, he struggled to produce at the plate. He slashed an underwhelming .234/.325/.361, resulting in a career-low 96 wRC+. Nootbaar maintained his solid plate discipline numbers, but he fell off significantly in the power department. His .361 SLG was a career-worst by more than 50 points, and his .128 ISO was unbefitting of a corner outfielder.

Nootbaar is arbitration-eligible this offseason. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $5.7MM salary.

Donovan dealt with multiple injuries in 2025, with a groin strain in August costing him the most time. He initially tried to play through the injury, but eventually landed on the IL. Donovan appeared in just eight games over the final few weeks of the regular season.

The injuries capped what was shaping up to be a career season for Donovan. He hit .329 through May, before a turf toe issue popped up. Donovan earned a trip to the All-Star game and still had an OPS near .800 heading into the break. His numbers trailed off from there, but the final line was strong. Donovan finished with career-best marks in batting average and slugging percentage to go with an excellent 119 wRC+.

Donovan is also heading to arbitration. Swartz projected him for a $5.4MM salary, just behind Nootbaar.

Herrera battled several injuries himself this season, though the elbow issue is his first of the upper-body variety. He missed most of April with knee inflammation, then a hamstring strain cost him three more weeks in the summer.

A three-homer game put Herrera on the map in the first week of the season. He piled up 11 RBI in the Cardinals’ first seven games. Herrera continued to mash after the knee injury, maintaining an OPS over .900 before the hamstring injury. He scuffled in July and August, but bounced back with a massive September. Herrera wrapped up his first full big-league season with a strong .284/.373/.464 slash line. He’s been a standout at the plate whenever given the opportunity. He even saw some outfield reps this past season as St. Louis tried to find ways to get him in the lineup.

The Cardinals have several options behind the plate, which made it easier for Herrera to spend the majority of his time at DH. A potential trade could clear out some of that depth, but Herrera should find regular at-bats in the Cardinals’ lineup next year, whether at catcher or DH.

Cardinals Have Received Trade Interest In Catching Depth

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“Other teams have asked about” the many catchers in the Cardinals organization, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote as part of a lengthy chat with readers.  No specific names are mentioned, yet since youngsters Jimmy Crooks, and Leonardo Bernal seem pretty untouchable at the moment, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, and Yohel Pozo are the likelier trade candidates, to varying degrees.

While the focus of the Cards’ offseason will be moving veteran talent and creating opportunities for young players, the wide-ranging nature of this rebuild means that president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is likely to explore every possible avenue for upgrading the roster.  Given this youth movement, it is safe to assume that Bernal and Crooks aren’t going anywhere, unless Bloom swings a relatively rare prospect-for-prospect type of swap.  The Cardinals could conceivably package one of their own prospects along with a higher-priced veteran (i.e. Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray) to convince a rival club to take on more salary, yet dealing a well-regarded prospect just to save money isn’t happening unless the other team also offers a good prospect package that can more broadly address the Cards’ needs.

MLB Pipeline ranks Bernal as the 92nd-best prospect in baseball, and the fourth-best prospect in the St. Louis farm system.  As Goold notes, the Cardinals will have to add him to the 40-man roster to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, so Bernal’s inclusion would give the Cards five backstops on their 40-man.  Goold suggests that Pozo will be the odd man out, perhaps designated for assignment and then re-signed by the Cardinals to a minor league contract.  Such a move would allow St. Louis to free up a 40-man spot and keep Pozo all at once, though a trade or waiver claim is a possibility in that scenario.

Crooks was ranked as the sixth-best Cardinals prospect and outside Pipeline’s league-wide top-100, though he received some top-100 attention from Baseball Prospectus and Fangraphs this year.  Crooks also made his MLB debut this season, but did very little at the plate in batting .133/.152/.244 over his first 46 plate appearances in the Show.  He has hit considerably better in the minors (including a .274/.337/.441 slash line in 430 PA in Triple-A), but Crooks is generally viewed as a glove-first type of catcher.

Beyond this duo, the Cardinals also have Rainiel Rodriguez, the 18-year-old who finished the season in high-A ball and who ranks 55th on Pipeline’s top-100 list.  It isn’t hard to view Rodriguez, Bernal, and Crooks within a broad “catcher of the future” category, which naturally creates questions about how the Cards could approach the catchers currently on the big league roster.

It should be noted that none of Herrera, Pages, or Pozo are exactly seasoned vets.  Herrera won’t become arbitration-eligible until next offseason and he is controlled through 2029, while Pages is controlled through 2030.  If Pozo is possibly DFA fodder, that alone could clear up the catching backlog to some extent, but could the Cardinals go a step further and move Herrera or Pages to create playing time for Crooks?

Describing Herrera as a catcher is perhaps a topic of debate unto itself, as he suited up behind the plate in only 14 games this season.  Herrera missed time due a bone bruise in his left knee and then a Grade 2 hamstring strain, plus he was slated for offseason surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow.  These health issues led the Cardinals to make Herrera their primary DH, and he also made a few cameo appearances in left field.

The team’s plan is for Herrera to spend the offseason healing up, and then to return in Spring Training as a viable catcher once again.  There were some questions about Herrera’s long-term ability to stick at catcher even before his injury-plagued 2025 season, but there’s no doubt he can hit.  Herrera batted .284/.373/.464 with 19 home runs over 452 plate appearances this year, and his 137 wRC+ was the 16th-best of any player in the league with at least 450 PA.

Moving such a potent and controllable bat this early in the rebuild process doesn’t seem too likely for Bloom, unless a major asset could be obtained in return.  If the Cardinals still have misgivings about Herrera’s defense, that could leave the door open a crack for a possible trade, yet it is fair to guess that Herrera is pretty far down the list of Bloom’s potential trade chips.

Pages ended up becoming the Cards’ primary catcher in 2025, and his profile is basically the opposite of Herrera.  Pages has hit only .233/.275/.368 over 607 career PA in the majors, but he is a superb defender in every aspect of catching except his blocking work.  This could appeal to clubs looking to improve their glovework behind the plate, though Yadier Molina’s shadow runs long in St. Louis, and the Cardinals themselves have long prioritized having strong catcher defense.

Ivan Herrera To Undergo Elbow Surgery, Return To Catching After 2025 Season

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Ivan Herrera is expected to undergo surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow after the 2025 season comes to a close, as first reported by Jim Hayes of FanDuel Sports Network. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat adds that Herrera is expected to be “full-go” by the time Spring Training roles around in February. The surgery is aiming to help correct his struggles with throwing behind the plate, which led the Cardinals to move him off catcher into a full-time DH role in July.

That should help facilitate a return to catching in 2026, and Jones wrote for MLB.com yesterday that Herrera has spoken with manager Oli Marmol and incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom to work out a plan for an offseason program designed to get him ready to return to catching next year. Jones adds that the club’s plan for Herrera’s offseason was created with the knowledge of the youngster’s impending surgery and with plans on how to incorporate his rehab into his winter assignments.

Being able to rely on Herrera has a regular part of the club’s catching corps next year would be a game changer for the Cardinals. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a major breakout with the bat this year, as he entered today slashing .279/.366/.447 across 100 games this year before clubbing his 17th home run of the season in today’s game against the Brewers to push his wRC+ up to 134 on the season. That’s a top-25 figure in baseball among players with at least 400 plate appearances, tied with star outfielders Bryce Harper and Byron Buxton. In other words, Herrera’s 2025 season has placed him in the upper echelon of hitters across the league regardless of position.

If Herrera can make the shift back to catcher without missing a beat with the bat, he would go from being a valuable middle-of-the-order hitter to a player with legitimate star potential. Only Cal Raleigh and Will Smith have hit better than Herrera while serving as primary catcher this year, and only five other catchers even have a wRC+ of 120 or higher on the year. That’s especially valuable for a club like St. Louis that simply hasn’t gotten much offensive production from the catcher position this year. Willson Contreras remains a quality bat, but was pushed into an everyday first base role over the offseason with no signs that he could return to the club’s catching mix any time soon. That’s left the lion’s share of playing time behind the plate for Pedro Pages, who has hit just .233/.276/.368 in 109 games for the Cards this season.

Herrera would constitute a massive upgrade over Pages offensively for St. Louis, and Marmol told reporters (including Jones) yesterday that the youngster is “committed” to putting in the work necessary to enter Spring Training as part of the catching mix for 2026. Assuming that offseason program goes well, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Herrera entering Spring Training as the favorite to start the majority of games behind the plate for the Cardinals, with Pages and Yohel Pozo in the mix for either the job backing up Herrera or to step in as the club’s catching tandem in the event that Herrera isn’t able to hack it defensively at the position even after surgery.

If Herrera is able to get most of his reps behind the dish, that would create flexibility for other position players on the club to get reps at DH and create more playing time for the rest of the club’s large positional group. Players like Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese have no settled position with the Cardinals and could benefit from the flexibility created by Herrera moving to catcher and opening up more DH at-bats.

Dodgers, Yankees Among Teams Interested In Brendan Donovan

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Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan is drawing trade interest from the Dodgers, Yankees, and multiple other teams, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reports.  St. Louis is open to listening to offers, yet a deal may be on the less likely side since Donovan is arbitration-controlled through 2027 and the Cardinals’ “asking price is sky-high” for the All-Star.

Along these same lines, the Cards are prioritizing moving pitchers, namely one of the multiple arms (Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton, Steven Matz, or Miles Mikolas) who are eligible for free agency after the season.  Erick Fedde is also within that group but the righty is already on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.  When it comes to moving position players, Woo writes that the Cards “will not part with one of their position players unless they are blown away by the offer, and their conversations have not progressed past initial check-ins.”  This more limited type of trade discussion extends to Donovan and other position players like Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson, and Lars Nootbaar, who are all “gathering varying levels of interest.”

This is far from the first time Donovan’s name has appeared in trade rumors, and the Yankees’ interest in his services dates back to at least the 2023-24 offseason.  The Cardinals’ surplus of multi-positional middle infield types in recent years has naturally made rival teams curious about several of those players, and it was just a year ago at the trade deadline that St. Louis dealt from that group in moving Tommy Edman to the Dodgers.  That three-team swap also involving the White Sox ended up being one of the most noteworthy trades of last year’s deadline, given how Edman and Michael Kopech ended up playing key roles in Los Angeles’ World Series championship.

Now in his fourth MLB season, Donovan made an immediate impact from the jump, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 and winning the first-ever utility Gold Glove.  He has remained a consistently steady level of offense while playing primarily against right-handed pitching, and Donovan is batting .293/.360/.428 with nine homers over 423 plate appearances this season.  These already solid numbers might not reflect his full offensive capability this year, as Donovan’s .363 xwOBA is better than his .344 wOBA.  Donovan doesn’t make much solid contact, but he is one of the league’s harder players to strike out.

Beyond Donovan’s hitting, his ability to play multiple positions makes him particularly valuable to both the Cardinals and any possible trade suitors.  The big majority of his playing time has come at second base and in left field, but Donovan has also logged innings at the other three infield positions and in right field.

This defensive versatility and Donovan’s left-handed bat make him more or less an ideal fit for the Dodgers’ needs, as The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya notes that L.A. would indeed like to add a left-handed hitting outfielder to its position-player mix.  Donovan’s ability to play second base makes him even more attractive for the Dodgers purposes since if he was used at the keystone, Edman would be utilized more primarily as an outfielder, and Andy Pages would move from center to a corner outfield slot.  Max Muncy could be returning from the injured list within a couple of weeks anyway, but Donovan could also help out at the third base position until Muncy is back in action.

Hypothetically, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Los Angeles again try to land both a versatile position player and a reliever from the Cardinals, since Ardaya writes that the Dodgers are still prioritizing bullpen help as their main deadline need.  This is pure speculation on my part, but since the Dodgers have also been linked to Helsley’s trade market, L.A. could possibly attempt to pry both Helsley and Donovan away at once.  Addressing two needs in a single deal might make the Dodgers a little more open to putting one of their top prospects on the table, as Ardaya wrote earlier this week that L.A. is understandably wary about offering either Dalton Rushing or Alex Freeland in any trade.

New York’s past interest in Donovan notwithstanding, Woo notes that the Yankees may no longer have Donovan on the radar now that Ryan McMahon is wearing the pinstripes.  The most recent supporting suggests that the Yankees are now looking to add a right-handed hitter in the wake of acquiring McMahon (a left-handed hitting third baseman) from the Rockies yesterday.  It could be that Donovan might now be a luxury for the Yankees only if they were to make some other move in the name of lineup balance, though New York probably shouldn’t be entirely ruled out just because Donovan is still a broad upgrade to the roster as a whole.

Donovan and Nootbaar are both under team control through 2027, Burleson through 2028, and Herrera through 2029.  It makes sense that the Cardinals are loath to part with any of these players who may contribute both in the future, and even for the rest of this season, as St. Louis is only 1.5 games back of a wild card slot.  Trading an impending free agent pitcher to address another present need is the club’s preferred situation, as the Cards look to be both buying and selling before the July 31 deadline.

Cardinals Activate Ivan Herrera, Place Lars Nootbaar On 10-Day IL

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Prior to today’s game, the Cardinals activated catcher Ivan Herrera from the 10-day injured list.  The corresponding move saw another regular hit the 10-day IL, as outfielder Lars Nootbaar has been sidelined by what the Cards described as a left costochondral sprain.

Herrera hasn’t played since June 19 due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain, though the fact that he was able to return from a more severe strain within a month’s time is a positive sign.  This was the second IL stint of the year for Herrera, who missed a month due to left knee inflammation in April and early May.  As a result, Herrera’s 2025 campaign has been limited to 43 games, counting his appearance as the designated hitter in today’s contest with the Braves.

Despite the injuries, Herrera has swung a hot bat when he has been able to play, as he hit .320/.392/.533 with eight homers over his first 171 trips to the plate.  In order to keep Herrera healthy, the Cardinals aren’t expected to use him much as a catcher over the remainder of the year, so Herrera will mostly act as a DH.

In an interesting wrinkle, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that the Cards also had Herrera go through some workouts as an outfielder, so he could potentially contribute in the field without entirely locking up the DH spot.  A career catcher, Herrera has never played in the outfield as a professional, as his only other positional experience consists of a few games as a first baseman during winter ball action.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol downplayed the idea of Herrera getting any significant time as an outfielder, simply saying “we’re going to see what that looks like.  We know catching is a stressor. We want to do whatever allows him to stay healthy all the way through, and if we feel at any point that it’s strictly DH, then it’s well worth it to keep his bat in the lineup and give him days off when we need the flexibility of moving someone into that spot.”

Speaking of outfielders, Nootbaar will get a full IL stint to heal up after dealing with a side problem for the last few days.  The costochondral joints connect the ribs to costal cartilage, so while the situation certainly isn’t pleasant for Nootbaar, he has at least avoided an oblique strain that might’ve led to a much longer absence.   Nootbaar missed about seven weeks of the 2024 season due to a pair of IL stints related to an oblique strain and a rib contusion.

Nootbaar is hitting .227/.332/.381 with 12 homers over 386 plate appearances this year, translating to a 104 wRC+ that is just above the league average.  The left-handed hitting Nootbaar has played almost every day for St. Louis, playing mostly left field while chipping in at the other two outfield positions.  After injuries hampered him in both 2023 and 2024, it was a good sign that Nootbaar had at least been able to stay on the field until now, and the hope is that he won’t miss too much more time to get back to playing condition.  Brendan Donovan, Jose Fermin, or Garrett Hampson figure to be used in left field while Nootbaar is out.

Ivan Herrera To Miss Multiple Weeks With Hamstring Strain

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The Cardinals lost one of their top hitters on Friday afternoon. Catcher/designated hitter Iván Herrera landed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. It’ll be more than a minimal stay with a chance to cost him upwards of a month.

Herrera was diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain, the team informed reporters (link via Katie Woo of The Athletic). That involves some measure of tearing and is of moderate severity. There’s a wide range on the timeline. St. Louis said Herrera could be sidelined anywhere between two and six weeks. Thomas Saggese is up from Triple-A Memphis to take his spot on the active roster.

It’s the second IL stint of the season for the 25-year-old Herrera. A bone bruise in his left knee cost him a month between early April and the second week of May. Herrera has raked when healthy. He’s batting .320/.392/.533 and has already established a career high with eight home runs in only 171 plate appearances. Herrera has made 13 starts behind the dish while getting the DH assignment on 28 occasions.

The Cardinals have carried three catchers since Herrera’s first IL stint, which is why they were able to recall an infielder as the corresponding move. That has freed them up to use Herrera as a DH without worrying about overworking him. Pedro Pagés has a much lighter bat but has superior defensive marks. Pagés was already playing fairly regularly and will be the clear #1 catcher for the time being. Yohel Pozo will back him up. Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Saggese could all rotate through the DH spot.

Ivan Herrera Out At Least A Month With Bone Bruise

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The Cardinals placed catcher Iván Herrera on the 10-day injured list this morning. His stay will last well beyond the minimum. Manager Oli Marmol told the team’s beat that Herrera was diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left knee (link via MLB.com’s John Denton). He’ll be out for at least a month.

Herrera was out to a blistering start to the season, headlined by his three-homer performance last Wednesday against the Angels. That was remarkably the first three-homer game by a catcher in the franchise’s history, which goes back to the 1880s. The 24-year-old is hitting .381 with four longballs in 24 plate appearances overall. Herrera hit .301/.372/.428 over a career-high 72 games last season, so there’s reason to believe he could be one of the better offensive catchers in baseball.

Marmol confirmed that they’re not considering Willson Contreras as a backup option behind the plate. That was more or less established when St. Louis selected Yohel Pozo from Triple-A Memphis as the corresponding move for Herrera’s IL placement. St. Louis will stick to the plan of keeping Contreras as their everyday first baseman. Pozo will back up Pedro Pagés for the time being.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak told Denton and other reporters that the front office will keep an eye on the catching market. That’d presumably be strictly at depth options, as they’ll want to keep Herrera’s path to regular playing time open once he’s healthy. Former fourth-round pick Jimmy Crooks is one of the organization’s more talented prospects as well. He’s getting his first real look at Triple-A pitching after a .321/.410/.498 showing last year in Double-A. The Cards didn’t want to rush him to the majors in response to the Herrera injury, but they could look for an experienced catcher to add organizational depth alongside Crooks in Memphis.

Cardinals Place Ivan Herrera On Injured List, Select Yohel Pozo

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April 7: The Cardinals made these moves official today. To open the necessary 40-man spot, left-hander Zack Thompson was transferred to the 60-day IL. He was shut down in early March due to a tear in his left lat muscle. He is now ineligible to be reinstated until 60 days from Opening Day, which would be late May.

April 6: The Cardinals are planning to place catcher Ivan Herrera on the injured list due to left knee inflammation tomorrow, as club manager Oli Marmol told ESPN’s Buster Olney on this evening’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. Marmol added that initial test results came back clean on Herrera’s knee and that it remains structurally sound despite the impending IL placement. As relayed by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals will select the contract of catcher Yohel Pozo to pair with Pedro Pages behind the plate while Herrera is on the shelf. A 40-man roster spot will need to be vacated to accommodate Pozo.

As noted by Goold earlier today, Herrera’s injury occurred during Game 1 of a double-header between the Red Sox and Cardinals this afternoon and required Herrera to be helped off the field after he felt discomfort when running from first to third on a single. Herrera appeared to be doing better later in the day, as John Denton of MLB.com notes that the backstop was moving around the clubhouse without pain during the layoff between today’s two games against Boston. Even so, it’s hardly a surprise that Herrera is headed for the injured list given physical toll that catching takes on a player’s knees. With Herrera suffering from knee inflammation, that could mean a fairly significant absence even with imaging having revealed no structural damage.

It’s a substantial loss for the Cardinals. Herrera has enjoyed a scorching start to the year, hitting .400/.455/1.100 in his first 22 plate appearances this year with four home runs, three of which came during a single game against the Angels earlier this week. That’s obviously a small sample size, but even Herrera’s career slash line in the majors entering play today sat at an impressive .296/.371/.444, good for a wRC+ of 130 across 102 games. That’s a strong mark for any hitter, but it’s nothing short of phenomenal from the catcher position and would make Herrera one of the best offensive backstops in the sport if maintained over the full 2025 campaign.

Any hope of that will have to be put on hold for now, however, as Herrera is ticketed for the injured list for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, it appears that Pages will step in as the club’s regular catcher. Pages has gotten off to a solid start this year in his own right, going 4-for-10 with a double and a homer against just one strikeout in five games. The 26-year-old is generally not regarded as offering the same offensive ceiling as Herrera, however, and hit just .238/.281/.376 in 68 games for the Cardinals last year. With that being said, he’s a solid defensive catcher who can offer consistently passable offense behind the plate and should have little trouble holding things down while Herrera is away.

Perhaps more interesting than Pages’s turn as the starting catcher is the club’s plans for the backup catcher spot on the club. Veteran Willson Contreras spent the entirety of his big league career as a catcher until this offseason, when the Cardinals moved him to first base. Though generally regarded as an average-to-below-average defensive option behind the plate, Contreras has generally been serviceable as a bat-first catcher throughout his career. That made it something of a shock that the club is not only opting to call up Pozo to serve as Pages’s backup, but that the club didn’t even use Contreras behind the plate during today’s double-header, instead having Pages catch nearly two full games. That suggests that Contreras won’t even be used behind the plate on an emergency basis, even though a lineup with him behind the plate and Alec Burleson or Luken Baker at first base would surely be more offensively robust than one featuring either Pages or Pozo.

Regardless, with Contreras locked in at first base it seems that backup catching duties will go to Pozo for the time being. The 27-year-old made his big league debut with the Rangers back in 2021 but hasn’t appeared in the majors since. He got into 21 games with Texas that year, hitting a decent .284/.312/.378 in 77 plate appearances along the way. In the years since then, Pozo has been serving as a depth option for the Rangers, Athletics, and now Cardinals at the Triple-A level and has done nothing but rake while doing so. In 329 games across five seasons at the Triple-A level, Pozo has slashed a strong .321/.343/545. While he can’t be reasonably expected to post anything close to that in the majors, his strong work at the highest level of the minors does suggest he may be able to offer some pop in his bat, making him a solid partner for Pages behind the plate while Herrera is out.

Poll: Who Will Be The Cardinals’ Starting Catcher?

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The Cardinals attempted to kick off a youth movement this winter, letting veteran players like Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, and Andrew Kittredge depart in free agency while attempting to trade other veteran pieces under longer-term team control. Unfortunately for St. Louis, none of those trades came to pass: Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray both declined to waive their no-trade clauses, while Nolan Arenado expressed a willingness to waive his for certain clubs but no deal ultimately came together.

That’s left the club looking very similar to last year, but even with a largely identical roster there remain some areas where the club can stick to its initial plans. Contreras has been a catcher for his entire career, but entered 2025 working out at first base ahead of what’s expected to be a full-time move away from his duties behind the plate this year. With Contreras replacing Goldschmidt at first, that opens up the catcher position for a young player to step in and claim the starting catcher job as their own. The Cardinals have two candidates for that role: Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages.

Herrera, 24, has already spent parts of three seasons in the majors after several years as a well-regarded catching prospect. His cups of coffee in the majors during the 2022 and ’23 seasons were limited to just 24 games and 66 plate appearances, but he got a more robust look at the big league level this past year and made the most of the opportunity. In 259 trips to the plate across 72 games last year, Herrera hit a strong .301/.372/.428 (127 wRC+). He showed decent pop and speed with five homers and five stolen bases in roughly a third of a full season’s slate of at-bats and complemented that with a solid understanding of the strike zone, as shown through his 20.5% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate.

A massive .370 BABIP is unlikely to be repeated over a full season, but his solid 8.9% barrel rate and the aforementioned plate discipline numbers suggest Herrera has the bat to be a solid hitter in the majors, and perhaps even well above average for the catcher position. Herrera has been an average to below average defender behind the plate to this point in his MLB career, however, with a lackluster arm that he pairs with average framing and blocking numbers. For a Cardinals club that struggled to make the adjustment from defensive stalwart Yadier Molina to bat-first slugger Contreras behind the plate, it would hardly be a surprise if the club preferred a more robust defender.

Enter Pages. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut with the Cardinals last year and got nearly the same amount of playing time as Herrera did with 68 games and 218 plate appearances. While he was similarly below average to Herrera when it came to throwing out runners in 2024, his pop time to second base was in the 75th percentile of catchers last year according to Statcast, while Herrera’s was in just the 27th percentile. That suggests more room to grow when it comes to controlling the running game, and Pages also rates out as a better pitch framer than Herrera with identical blocking numbers.

Those stronger defensive numbers could make Pages an attractive option as a regular behind the plate to a Cardinals organization that has long appreciated the value of a strong glove, but his offensive numbers could hold him back. Pages pales in comparison to Herrera as a hitter, with a slash line of just .238/.281/.376 (83 wRC+) last season. While Pages showed impressive power with seven homers in just 218 trips to the plate, he also struck out at an elevated 26.6% clip while walking only 6% of the time. That home run total also might be misleading about his overall offensive skill set, as well. Even as Pages managed to send more balls over the fence than Herrera did in fewer plate appearances, his 4.8% barrel rate was dwarfed by Herrera’s aforementioned 8.9% barrel rate, indicating that it was actually Herrera who made the strongest contact more consistently last year.

Of course, it’s also possible that the Cardinals could choose not to commit to either youngster as a true starter behind the plate, instead operating on a timeshare that’s closer to 50-50. Stepping out of the traditional starter-and-backup setup behind the plate could afford both players the opportunity to assert themselves as regulars, allowing performance to more naturally dictate playing time over the course of the season and beyond. That might come at the expense of comfort for the club’s pitchers if who is behind the plate is frequently changing on a day-to-day basis, but one possible solution to that would be to have each catcher work with a certain group of starting pitchers in order to ease their defensive burden from a planning and game-calling perspective while also affording those starters some level of consistency regarding who their battery mate is.

How do MLBTR readers think the Cardinals will approach the catcher position this year? Will they prioritize Herrera’s higher ceiling and better bat, Pages’s stronger defensive reputation, or settle for a timeshare involving both youngsters? Have your say in the poll below:

Who will the Cardinals use as their starting catcher?
Ivan Herrera will be the club's primary catcher. 47.56% (2,803 votes)
The club will use both catchers in an even timeshare. 41.33% (2,436 votes)
Pedro Pages will be the club's primary catcher. 11.11% (655 votes)
Total Votes: 5,894

John Mozeliak Discusses Cardinals’ Offseason Plans

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Getting a clear picture of the Cardinals’ plans for 2025 has been a bit of a moving target. Multiple reports over the past months indicated the club was looking at a sort of reset year, lowering the payroll as they pivot towards a focus on player development. As such, it seemed fair to expect that a number of veteran players on the roster would be available in trade. In recent weeks, that expectation has been softened, something that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak discussed with Katie Woo of The Athletic this week.

“We have every intention of fielding a good baseball team,” Mozeliak said. “It’s going to have a different profile, but we still have a lot of belief that some of our younger players will take that next step forward. We’re excited about what we have. Now, it is Dec. 5, and things can happen and things can change. But we’re still going into (next season) with optimism that it’ll be a fun baseball team to watch.”

It seems the plan is to walk a bit of a fine line. The Cards are definitely planning to take their foot of the gas pedal a bit, though maybe not to the degree that was initially expected. All signs point to the club spending a bit less on the 2025 roster, but they might just do that by being less aggressive. RosterResource already projects the club about $35MM below last year’s payroll, so the Cards could just avoid signings as opposed to actively looking to move players with notable contracts.

As of a few weeks ago, it seemed fair to expect players like Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Ryan Helsley and others would be available. Helsley is an excellent reliever but is one year away from free agency, making it logical for them to explore trades. The other three are in their mid-30s and making eight-figure salaries. They all have no-trade protection but it was assumed by some that they would prefer to be traded to a competitor, rather than sticking out a rebuilding process.

But it was reported last month that Contreras actually wanted to stay in St. Louis and didn’t want to waive his no-trade clause. Since one of the goals of the 2025 season is for the club to evaluate players including catchers Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés, Contreras will be moved to first base to replace free agent Paul Goldschmidt. Though the reporting was a bit less explicit with Gray, it seems he also had a desire to stay with the Cards next year.

Recent reporting has also suggested that they will hold onto Helsley. They could eventually trade him at the deadline but there is some risk there. Helsley could get hurt or put up less impressive numbers in the first half of 2025. Holding onto him now also prevents the acquiring team from making a qualifying offer after 2025, potentially reducing his trade value.

All in all, it seems the plan is to do something in between rebuilding and full-throated contending. The Cards are going to give playing time to some less proven players and hope for some internal developments. Woo lists Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Pagés and Herrera as players who should get long auditions in 2025. That’s notable for Gorman as he seemed to fall out of favor this past year, getting optioned to the minors with Mozeliak seemingly delivering a harsh assessment of his situation at that time.

“Obviously, it’s a game of production up here and at some point, you’ve got to consistently produce, or we have to find someone who can,” Mozeliak said in August. “I mean, that’s what it ultimately comes down to, and these are hard messages to hear. It can be frustrating, but this is what ends up defining you. With our offensive struggles this year, I think you can strictly look at the inability for consistent performance, day in and day out.”

It seems much has changed since that comment, as Mozeliak now tells Woo that they’re hoping for Gorman to get 600 at-bats next year. He seemed to break out in 2023 with 27 home runs and a strong 11.4% walk rate, working around a high strikeout rate of 31.9%. But his walk rate fell to 8.5% in 2024 as his strikeout rate climbed even higher to 37.6%, leading to his aforementioned optioning to the minors.

The Cards have a few of these talented but unproven players and it seems the plan is to give them a chance to step forward. Walker also had a strong 2023 but fell off in 2024. Burleson had a nice breakout in 2024 that he’ll try to maintain. Nootbaar has been limited by injuries and still hasn’t played 120 games in a season. Pagés and Herrera have been stuck in backup duty behind Contreras.

The overarching plan then is to proverbially throw these players into the deep end and see how well they swim. The Cards believe that, with some success from that group and others, they could potentially compete in 2025. That mentality is leading them to hold onto players like Helsley for now and see how things go. Depending on how the players and the team perform in the first half of 2025 could then determine next steps.

The big remaining unknown seems to be Arenado, who seems to be more open to waiving his no-trade clause than Contreras or Gray, but he hasn’t demanded a trade and the Cardinals don’t seem hellbent on moving him. Whether he returns to St. Louis in 2025 could perhaps depend on what kind of offers are put on the table for him. On top of that, players like Erick Fedde, Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas are impending free agents. The club may be open to trading them depending on the offers, but like Helsley, they could also be retained as the club tries to see if contending in 2025 is possible.

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