What do the Cards do at C & CF in 2026?

[Bad14]

I'm starting to sound like someone else on here who's infatuated with a current Cards player BUT trade for Sean Murphy! We don't have an MLB ready catcher. He has 3 years left on his contract. Enough time to groom his heir apparent. He also crushes lefties. Atlanta has a rookie catcher who's crushing it. They shed salary to use elsewhere (probably outfield). Involve a third team like White Sox. They have no catching prospect. We seem to have an abundance.

[hugeCardfan]

Scott is minimum salary for 2026...keep him, let those under him develop. We're not contending next season, no need to make a splash in FA for a CF

Catcher.... Crooks vs. RHP, Pages vs. LHP.......Pozo should be traded by the deadline, imo

I’d tell Scott that Church will get a fair run at CF. Scott should work hard this winter.

[Cardinals4Life]

Pray

You mean go to Church? He deserves a look in spring. Maybe an AFL stint this fall.

He won't replace Scott out of the gate. But a possible alternative in CF not named Siani or Hampson

Well done, sir!

[renostl]

Argo needs some competition. Maybe Church or Antico push him ...maybe Baez

None of them should be all that comfortable.
Depending on roster construction either 4-5 OFers
can be utilized.

Of the guys that they have just placed out there
Burleson might be the best. That's a little mind-numbing.

Hampson, Vilade, Siani, Barrero, Herrera
Nootbaar and Walker will miss their 40-60 games.

Seems like they all need competition, An OFer who plays
both sides of the ball and stays healthy, that guy should
get a roster spot

[2ninr]

Scott is minimum salary for 2026...keep him, let those under him develop. We're not contending next season, no need to make a splash in FA for a CF

Catcher.... Crooks vs. RHP, Pages vs. LHP.......Pozo should be traded by the deadline, imo

I’d tell Scott that Church will get a fair run at CF. Scott should work hard this winter.

I think Scott's bright enough to not be real confident of owning cf going forward in 26'. His defense is outstanding. As you say, he has to work hard on all the little things that add points to his obp. Not the least of which is pitch recognition and drawing more walks.

[Alex Reyes Cy Young]

Scott is minimum salary for 2026...keep him, let those under him develop. We're not contending next season, no need to make a splash in FA for a CF

Catcher.... Crooks vs. RHP, Pages vs. LHP.......Pozo should be traded by the deadline, imo

Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air. Trading when the stock is high instead of consistently hitting your stop losses.

[CCard]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

Pozo at catcher with Pages spelling him. One can hit a lot more than the other apparently. There is no option to Scott in CF. He could be a star if given a little time. He's good enough to get the time. If this team can stomach Siani for as long as they did they can definitely play Scott in CF.

[PadsFS07]

Pages is one of the worst catchers in our history at this point. Molina at least had good-to-elite defense in his final year to go with the abysmal .535 OPS.

We are back to the late 90s really with Marrero and Pagnozzi and the rest barely getting by defensively and putting up horrid batting lines.

[rockondlouie]

C - Crooks

I'd rather keep PoZo as his backup, Pages is a huge "Meh" and NOT the catcher whisper some in the local media think.

CF - VSII

While he definitely has to get that OB% up by hitting down on the ball ala Ozzie and learning how to bunt, he's a huge asset defensively in CF and perhaps the best base stealer (27 out of 29) in MLB!

[scoutyjones2]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

Pozo at catcher with Pages spelling him. One can hit a lot more than the other apparently. There is no option to Scott in CF. He could be a star if given a little time. He's good enough to get the time. If this team can stomach Siani for as long as they did they can definitely play Scott in CF.

No. There are options in the minors

Baez
Church
Antico

[CCard]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

Pozo at catcher with Pages spelling him. One can hit a lot more than the other apparently. There is no option to Scott in CF. He could be a star if given a little time. He's good enough to get the time. If this team can stomach Siani for as long as they did they can definitely play Scott in CF.

No. There are options in the minors

Baez
Church
Antico

None of them are currently playing in the majors. Who knows if they can do any better. Scott is highly rated and he has more speed than any I dare say. You can't teach speed.

[scoutyjones2]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

Pozo at catcher with Pages spelling him. One can hit a lot more than the other apparently. There is no option to Scott in CF. He could be a star if given a little time. He's good enough to get the time. If this team can stomach Siani for as long as they did they can definitely play Scott in CF.

No. There are options in the minors

Baez
Church
Antico

None of them are currently playing in the majors. Who knows if they can do any better. Scott is highly rated and he has more speed than any I dare say. You can't teach speed.

Like Billy Hamilton...speed is worthless if you can't get on base. Argo is fine on a better hitting team, but not on a team as the Cards are currently constructed.

[CCard]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

Pozo at catcher with Pages spelling him. One can hit a lot more than the other apparently. There is no option to Scott in CF. He could be a star if given a little time. He's good enough to get the time. If this team can stomach Siani for as long as they did they can definitely play Scott in CF.

No. There are options in the minors

Baez
Church
Antico

None of them are currently playing in the majors. Who knows if they can do any better. Scott is highly rated and he has more speed than any I dare say. You can't teach speed.

Like Billy Hamilton...speed is worthless if you can't get on base. Argo is fine on a better hitting team, but not on a team as the Cards are currently constructed.

Hamilton had a lot of time. Scott hasn't.

[Stlcardsblues]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

They are loaded at catcher. That’s about as high a priority as how many pretzel vendors to hire.

They need to be looking to trade catching to fill other holes.

[An Old Friend]

I like Scott, but you cannot have him in the lineup when the 8th place hitter is also hitting near .200. I’m not sure where the Cards go for C in 2026 but something has to be done.

Catcher feels like an easy answer - Pozo and Crooks

[ramfandan]

Scott is minimum salary for 2026...keep him, let those under him develop. We're not contending next season, no need to make a splash in FA for a CF

Catcher.... Crooks vs. RHP, Pages vs. LHP.......Pozo should be traded by the deadline, imo

Bernal may also be called up sometime next season.
He could be overall better than Crooks.

I tend to think Bernal may be our best upcoming Catcher also. Bloom will have a big depth of catchers (a premium position ) to deal from Pages, Pozo, Crooks, Bernal, and Rodriguez . The latter 3 are all in our Top 5 prospects list.