Pozo looks like a new man

[Absolut]

He lost 33 pounds.
From living in his car to living a dream -- and he wants to be ready.
I doubt he makes the team, but you have to give him huge credit.


HBAivf2bAAEDlpJ.jpeg

Interesting.
Does in increase his mobility and defensive value?
And does it detract from his power - which was his only calling card?
Obviously, he knows he is rumbling with Crooks for 2nd catcher role and doubtless that was one motivation for his weight loss.

I’ll risk his 375 slg for the loss of moobs

[Absolut]

Radio said one of the non catchers showed up noticeably heavy. Wouldn’t say who

[kscardsfan]

Radio said one of the non catchers showed up noticeably heavy. Wouldn’t say who

I read McGreevy put on 15 lbs. Maybe he is the one they are referring to.

[Red7]

Pozo will be a baseball lifer. He’s a good enough player to be at least a AAAA catcher. He’s the type of guy organizations look to hire when their playing days are over, for a variety of roles. He’s never going to be a starter, a Gold Glove winner, or an All-Star. However, he’s an asset to any organization he’s associated with. That’s why he’s still around baseball.

[Cardinals4Life]

Pozo will be a baseball lifer. He’s a good enough player to be at least a AAAA catcher. He’s the type of guy organizations look to hire when their playing days are over, for a variety of roles. He’s never going to be a starter, a Gold Glove winner, or an All-Star. However, he’s an asset to any organization he’s associated with. That’s why he’s still around baseball.

He's only 28 and barely had a taste of the big leagues. I also like his story and all, but don't forget this is also the guy who got in big trouble for hazing in the Rangers minor league system. I wouldn't call him a great mentor/coach/whatever just quite yet, guy.

[riff raff]

Pozo could absolutely be our DH. Dude showed some hit skills last year.

[riff raff]

Wow

I'd deal P. Pages

Go w/Crooks & Pozo until Bernal is ready (possibly by mid season?).

and where does that put hererra? ithought coming into ST he was the #1 catcher option. but I too would still trade Pages as I believe he may be most attractive at this point in time!!

They want him to catch it seems. Someone posted his defensive stats, and he was right there with Contreras and Crooks except for his arm.
He had elbow surgery in the off season so we may see a better version of him this year.

[82birds]

Congrats to the young man was his effort, commitment, and success.

this ^

[cardinalsfever44]

Radio said one of the non catchers showed up noticeably heavy. Wouldn’t say who

I read McGreevy put on 15 lbs. Maybe he is the one they are referring to.

If McGreevy showed up 15 pounds overweight, that is not a good sign. I'm hoping it's muscle and good weight so he can make it through the full season.

[ecleme22]

Wow

I'd deal P. Pages

Go w/Crooks & Pozo until Bernal is ready (possibly by mid season?).

I agree. I’m still surprised Pages is on the team.
The roster makes much more sense without him.

Combo should be Herrera/Crooks with Pozo in the minors as the backup for a minor injury.

Me too with the pipeline coming down the road.

I keep reading about how the "pitchers love throwing to him" and yes, he did have the best catcher ERA but the starting staff still wasn't good last season so just how good was he?

Give the playing time to Hererra (I left him out of the convo since I'm still not sure if he can throw out runners at least 20% of the time), Crooks and keep Pozo at AAA backing up Bernal until Hererra shows he still can't throw (and I hope I'm wrong).

I know you’re getting all hot and bothered over Pozo’s bod, but maybe let things play out just a bit before deeming pages expendable.

[StlMike1969]

If Bloom and company are keeping with the theme then Pozo has a real chance to disrupt the narrative in some sorts. He came out of nowhere to be a fill in guy they could DFA once the time came. Instead he showed some promise and a bit of bat at a time the other guy was whiffing hard then hurt. If i recall correctly he was not on the roster for a bit this winter and they resigned him. With all of the catching depth we have he must have shown something they liked. So now he is 33 lbs. lighter and motivated to succeed. I believe most of us on this forum feel like the team is just being courteous to Herrera to give him this shot at being the catcher because he wants it. If he gets outplayed by the other guys they can sit him down and tell him to come to reality. If Pozo shines and Pages proves dispensable, we may see a Pozo / Crooks tandem this year. Splitting starts to see who hits the best as both will most likely be close to equal defensively. ST will be interesting to say the least.

[riff raff]

Wow

I'd deal P. Pages

Go w/Crooks & Pozo until Bernal is ready (possibly by mid season?).

I agree. I’m still surprised Pages is on the team.
The roster makes much more sense without him.

Combo should be Herrera/Crooks with Pozo in the minors as the backup for a minor injury.

Me too with the pipeline coming down the road.

I keep reading about how the "pitchers love throwing to him" and yes, he did have the best catcher ERA but the starting staff still wasn't good last season so just how good was he?

Give the playing time to Hererra (I left him out of the convo since I'm still not sure if he can throw out runners at least 20% of the time), Crooks and keep Pozo at AAA backing up Bernal until Hererra shows he still can't throw (and I hope I'm wrong).

I know you’re getting all hot and bothered over Pozo’s bod, but maybe let things play out just a bit before deeming pages expendable.

[An Old Friend]

Wow

I'd deal P. Pages

Go w/Crooks & Pozo until Bernal is ready (possibly by mid season?).

I agree. I’m still surprised Pages is on the team.
The roster makes much more sense without him.

Combo should be Herrera/Crooks with Pozo in the minors as the backup for a minor injury.

I think it's more likely that they carry 3 because they'll need a backup catcher on the days that Herrera DH's. I'd like to see them keep Herrera / Pozo and then one of Pages / Crooks, deal the other one if there is any market or send them to AAA to work alongside Bernal.

Also, just to note, Bernal should NOT be on the major league radar for 2026. I highly doubt the front office has that in mind.

[cards53]

He's only 28 and barely had a taste of the big leagues. I also like his story and all, but don't forget this is also the guy who got in big trouble for hazing in the Rangers minor league system. I wouldn't call him a great mentor/coach/whatever just quite yet, guy.

I hadn't read this before about hazing in Ranger system. I did some things I'm not proud of when I was 19. I'm 84 now and not the same man. I checked and found the following quote regarding the Nov. 2016 incident when Pozo was 19 years old.

"Paul Kruger, the Rangers’ assistant director for player personnel, said no charges have been filed against Pozo or the other players and the case has been closed in the Dominican Republic."

“Some things are true, some are not,” Kruger said. “The investigation by Dominican authorities has been concluded and he’s been let off without any charges. From our end, it’s a closed case. We’re moving forward with Yohel.”

[2ninr]

Congrats to the young man was his effort, commitment, and success.

Wait someone hacked 45s account.

[Cardinals4Life]

Radio said one of the non catchers showed up noticeably heavy. Wouldn’t say who

I read McGreevy put on 15 lbs. Maybe he is the one they are referring to.

If McGreevy showed up 15 pounds overweight, that is not a good sign. I'm hoping it's muscle and good weight so he can make it through the full season.

He is not overweight. He has added some muscle as planned. He is primed and ready to go.

Prediction: He becomes the leader of the staff this season.