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Apparently he has some "floaties" in his elbow that will be cleaned out, hopefully early in the off season so he can heal. Whether that will improve his throwing remains to be seen. I doubt it, but yaneverknow. Then in ST is becomes clear whether he can catch or play LF. Otherwise he is the DH. If WC waives his NTC, then Burley is your first baseman. If WC is still here, then you have the rotating DH. It sure solves a lot of problems if IH could actually play replacement level D at catcher as was stated above. A couple of days a week he is at DH for a break. You cannot have IH and Burley in the OF at the same time as was also stated above. Even superman in CF couldn't cover that much ground..... Burley is fine a few days a week as a corner OFer, but he is slow. We shall see who is still on the roster come ST, but I am betting IH is still here.

So he’s defensively challenged and can’t throw as C……has chronic leg issues that remove him lineup for weeks
And the NEW FO thinks CATCHER is best spot for the best power bat in the lineup
This isn’t hard…..is it???
This guy has DH/LF written all over him

Goldfan wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:57 am So he’s defensively challenged and can’t throw as C……has chronic leg issues that remove him lineup for weeks
And the NEW FO thinks CATCHER is best spot for the best power bat in the lineup
This isn’t hard…..is it???
This guy has DH/LF written all over him

The objective is to have him hit. Feeling his best is paramount. Catcher isn’t it. I agree.

sikeston bulldog2 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 05:14 am Good morning.

The reset was designed to see who could perform and also fatigue and stamina issues.

Herrera has passed both tests. He’s hot late. Shows endurance.

374 at bats- .283-19 hr-2/1 K to walk. 2.3 war.

Putting him behind the plate will only diminish his hitting and the teams runner stopping abilities.

He needs to replace Willy, or if he has a catchers arm, play left.

Now- so far in reset these have performed- Winn, Donovan, Herrera, Willy, McG, Libby. Gray. They can stay.

The remaining group are up for auction.

Enjoy.

I agree that Herrera should not be the catcher next year. The guy can hit. He can't throw out runners and his body can't take the beating that he gets as a catcher.

I doubt Willy will waive his NTC but if he does then either Burly or Herrera should be at first next year. The Cardinals should have given Herrera more time in the outfield this summer to see if he could handle the position.

ecleme22 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:35 am

Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:21 am

Charles King wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 07:16 am The DH is a position. American League teams have a player that plays that position all the time. Why not us. Gorman can't hit enough. Burleson can play outfield or first. Contreras can play first. Let Herrera play DH

+1 I don’t know why people are obsessed with everyone having to play a position. If you have Burly in right and Herrera in left your outfield defense is going to suck badly. Just park him at DH and let him hit. I would rather a guy just DH and have a better fielding outfielder than put an average or below average guy in the field just so you can say he has a position for some reason

Why is it a forgone conclusion Burly is in RF?

Where else is he going to play? He’s not going to play first Contreras has shown zero interest in waiving his no trade clause and has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to go. So burly will play right left or be traded

My idea would be to have him as a backup catcher and the DH on all other days. That bat is a plus in any lineup.

A young cost controlled MOTOB DH/LF guy that can also be the emergency/3rd C with a plus bat is an easy keeper, with one of the main priorities being keeping his bat healthy and in the lineup daily.
Bernal could be part of the C tandem with either Pages or Crooks sometime in 2026, with Rodriguez on the horizon.

Let's not overthink this. IH is the best young hitter in your organization. Don't trade him unless there is a really, really sweet deal.

But he's more than a winter away from being a MLB-level catcher. Give him some practice behind the plate if that's what it takes to keep him happy, but in terms of roster construction, accept that he's the DH.

Goldfan wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:57 am So he’s defensively challenged and can’t throw as C……has chronic leg issues that remove him lineup for weeks
And the NEW FO thinks CATCHER is best spot for the best power bat in the lineup
This isn’t hard…..is it???
This guy has DH/LF written all over him

++ ++++ + +++++++ ++ +++ 111111111

Herrera can't catch because then he couldn't hit? Not to highlight only two great hitting catchers, but anybody ever hear of Johnny bench or that kid up in Seattle? I think this is a foolish objection. Find out if the operation on his elbow will fix his arm so that he can throw adequately to play catcher up to the very high standards that some of you seem to be setting for him.

okcardfan wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 14:34 pm Herrera can't catch because then he couldn't hit? Not to highlight only two great hitting catchers, but anybody ever hear of Johnny bench or that kid up in Seattle? I think this is a foolish objection. Find out if the operation on his elbow will fix his arm so that he can throw adequately to play catcher up to the very high standards that some of you seem to be setting for him.

He has issues with his leg muscles. Have you ever squatted and moved around behind the plate for 9 innings? Pulled Hammy is 3-4 wks

milb totals:

G SB CS
IH 368 324 124 28 percent
PP 253 220 107 33 percent

Clubmaker2 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 14:49 pm milb totals:

G SB CS
IH 368 324 124 28 percent
PP 253 220 107 33 percent

Thank you for this.

If the elbow is an issue and he has not been healthy on the throwing side, then his SB% regression is explained. Thus, if the elbow gets fixed and he has a clean bill of health, there is no way he is as abysmal at throwing as he has been so far in MLB.

I am interested in finding out because his offense behind the plate is an asset that very few teams have.

Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 09:18 am

ecleme22 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:35 am

Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:21 am

Charles King wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 07:16 am The DH is a position. American League teams have a player that plays that position all the time. Why not us. Gorman can't hit enough. Burleson can play outfield or first. Contreras can play first. Let Herrera play DH

+1 I don’t know why people are obsessed with everyone having to play a position. If you have Burly in right and Herrera in left your outfield defense is going to suck badly. Just park him at DH and let him hit. I would rather a guy just DH and have a better fielding outfielder than put an average or below average guy in the field just so you can say he has a position for some reason

Why is it a forgone conclusion Burly is in RF?

Where else is he going to play? He’s not going to play first Contreras has shown zero interest in waiving his no trade clause and has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to go. So burly will play right left or be traded

Hypothetical:

If the defensive-clunky LFer Walker had an .850 OPS right now, would that be a problem to you?

ecleme22 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 14:59 pm

Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 09:18 am

ecleme22 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:35 am

Ozziesfan41 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 08:21 am

Charles King wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 07:16 am The DH is a position. American League teams have a player that plays that position all the time. Why not us. Gorman can't hit enough. Burleson can play outfield or first. Contreras can play first. Let Herrera play DH

+1 I don’t know why people are obsessed with everyone having to play a position. If you have Burly in right and Herrera in left your outfield defense is going to suck badly. Just park him at DH and let him hit. I would rather a guy just DH and have a better fielding outfielder than put an average or below average guy in the field just so you can say he has a position for some reason

Why is it a forgone conclusion Burly is in RF?

Where else is he going to play? He’s not going to play first Contreras has shown zero interest in waiving his no trade clause and has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to go. So burly will play right left or be traded

Hypothetical:

If the defensive-clunky LFer Walker had an .850 OPS right now, would that be a problem to you?

It depends on who is on left. If that person sucks then yea it would be a problem if they want to win. The cardinals aren’t going to magically have a bunch of strike out pitchers next season. They will have a rotation of pitch to contact pitchers and pitch to contact + awful defense equals lots and lots of unnecessary losses. But you like the idea of awful defense in the outfield so that’s cool it will cost them a lot of games though

Dicktar2023 wrote: ↑24 Sep 2025 11:45 am Let's not overthink this. IH is the best young hitter in your organization. Don't trade him unless there is a really, really sweet deal.

But he's more than a winter away from being a MLB-level catcher. Give him some practice behind the plate if that's what it takes to keep him happy, but in terms of roster construction, accept that he's the DH.

Agreed