Herrera going to spring training 2026 as a catcher ?

[ramfandan]

according to Oli as reported by Jim Hayes in pregame show .

Guess Oli is feeling he has manager's spot sowed up .
If Herrera can improve defensively to be primary catcher , that means it frees up a 'bat' to be the DH spot adding improved offense .
Guess Bloom will address this in a month

[AZ_Cardsfan]

If they can work with him and make him a legitimate defensive catcher it's a worthwhile goal. I have no idea if they can. Catcher is the most demanding position in baseball.

[82birds]

are they kowtowing to him cuz this is what HE wants?
they should do what's best FOR THE TEAM.
JMO.

[Melville]

Classic case of telling an employee what he wants to hear simply to placate for a while.
Herrera is not an MLB catcher.
Never will be a starter at that position for any length of time.
The Marmot knows that.

[Charles King]

I think he needs to be the left fielder

JMO

[OldRed]

Classic case of telling an employee what he wants to hear simply to placate for a while.
Herrera is not an MLB catcher.
Never will be a starter at that position for any length of time.
The Marmot knows that.

You need to watch
Listen
and learn

How is your Unicorn doing at second base?

[Clubmaker2]

then he should have been catching this whole season , that is what it was for. Again some time wasted if true. Or left field remember .....

[Barrys_head]

When Herrera is catching we have one less hole in the lineup. With him as DH the bottom half of the lineup is pretty weak.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Here's a report about it.

https://www.mlb.com/news/cardinals-want ... er-in-2026

Sounds like it was a conversation between Herrera, who really wants to do it, Oli, and Bloom. And if Bloom thinks it can work, then I don't see what it would hurt. The Brewers turned William Contreras from a terrible catcher into a pretty (bleep) good one in just one offseason. And aside from not being able to throw out runners, Herrera isn't bad. Also sounds like Ivan had some shoulder problems that have affected his throwing.

I do worry about him staying healthy behind the plate, but it would be really nice to have that kind of offense behind the plate. And if it doesn't work out, you still have Crooks and Pages, with more coming up the pipeline.

[2ninr]

Herrea had two left leg injuries this year. Bone bruise in his knee and hamstring. I believe it was the proper decision to proceed circumspectly by playing him at dh.

[craviduce]

he's too slow getting off his knee to make the throw to 2B. It's not how he learned to catch in the minors.

Let's not forget this....please.

His first game at catcher next season, and he gives up a SB and a PB behind the plate in the 1st inning....just remember....remember what we told you in March and April of 2025...and you easily forgot by September 2025.

Remember. When he's benched and gets less AB's b/c he can't catch and the DH on our team is having a decent season....Remember that.

I wish Herrera the best...but I fear, we're trying to reinvent the Square Wheel, and hoping it rotates this time.

[JohnnyMO]

Hate to say I told you so BUT…

[TheSolution]

are they kowtowing to him cuz this is what HE wants?
they should do what's best FOR THE TEAM.
JMO.

In this case it’s both.

Why not train as a catcher this off-season.

He’s not going to be at 1st and no defensive training needed for DH so might as well train as a catcher and see where this could go

[scoutyjones2]

When Herrera is catching we have one less hole in the lineup. With him as DH the bottom half of the lineup is pretty weak.

Ivan a catcher is a defensive nightmare.

[Cusecards]

They can say whatever they want but of course time will tell.
You have a system full of catching prospects.
You have a number of possibilities for DH.
I call it lip service especially since Herrera’s bat is needed so he will be in the lineup somewhere.
Then there is the domino affect that could be created with players(Arenado? Noot? Gorman? etc) being dealt.

[Hazelwood72]

Yet one more example on how badly Mozo the Clown & His Minions have constructed a supposedly MLB team. Another example of forcefitting a square peg into a round hole because our front office is horrible at evaluating talent.

It would be refreshing if one of the young Cardinals up from the minors could hit reasonably and field reasonably well. We’ve had a few, but they’ve been few and far in-between. In other words, the Card Brain Trust has hyped a lot of guys at Memphis who have not panned out in the big league.