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Jatalk wrote: ↑11 Nov 2025 06:43 am

Talkin' Baseball wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 17:33 pm Currently the Cardinals have 4 catchers on their roster of 37 players (Herrera is listed as a catcher). Additionally, they will need to add Leonardo Bernal to the roster this month. Having 5 catchers on your 40 man roster is a bad idea, so some work needs to done.

How Many Catchers Are Needed in St. Louis?
Ideally, two catchers on the 26 man roster should be enough. They recently added Bryan Torres to the 40-man roster. If he sticks in St Louis I could see him being an emergency third catcher. He caught in 78 games for 545 innings in the minors, and surprisingly threw out 47% of would-be base stealers. So, I’m going with 2 rostered catchers and Torres as a backup plan.

Deciding Who Stays
It would not be my pick, but according to Katie Woo’s reporting the Cardinals seem intent on having Ivan Herrera catch 60-80 games for the Cards this season. I trust Katie, so whether I like it or not, Herrera stays on the roster as a catcher.
I like Yohel Pozo, but I don’t see any way he can stay on the roster with this many catchers. My hope would be that he could be dropped from the roster and signed to a minor league contract and sent to Memphis as a catcher-in-waiting, in the event of injury. Whether that happens or not, he has to be dropped from the roster.

Now the debate- We have Pedro Pages and Jimmy Crooks who were both on the roster at the end of the season, as well as Leonardo Bernal who ended the year at AA. Only two of them should remain on the 40-man roster, and if Herrera is a catcher, only one should remain on the 26-man roster. One catcher needs to go.

Who Needs To Go?
If you want to trade one of the catchers, they all have almost identical trade value. Jimmy Crooks 13.3M, Pedro Pages 11.2M, and Leonardo Bernal 11.2M. If we still have Bernal, he needs to go to AAA. Can you really send Crooks back to AAA with Bernal there, or hold Bernal back at AA? In my mind, Bernal is the catcher of the future in St Louis. I know some disagree, but that’s how I see it. He isn’t just better than Crooks defensively- he was judged to be better than all minor league catchers defensively. He has more pop in his bat than Crooks. He is a switch hitter. He is younger than Crooks as well. He could be here for 10-12 years if we can keep him. So, I send Bernal to Memphis next season. That leaves Pages and Crooks for the second catcher in St Louis next season- the other one gets traded. I don’t have a strong preference on that. It would be dependent on the preferences of the receiving team.

There you have it- 3 Catchers on the 40 man- Herrera, Pages or Crooks, and Bernal. (By the way- I expect the Herrera experiment to fail and whoever is left of Pages and Crooks will end up backing up Bernal)

Agree about Herrera. I like Pages so depending who fits in AAA trade one of the young guys.

Cusecards wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 21:54 pm

Talkin' Baseball wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 21:09 pm

Cusecards wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 20:29 pm

Melville wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 19:05 pm Herrera will not start 60+ games at catcher next year.
The pitchers simply will not allow it.
Pages / Crooks should share starting duties in 2026.
Bernal should be traded to acquire talent at other positions of greater need - he is squeezed by others ahead and others behind.
Rodriguez is closing fast and should be considered the developing heir to follow Pages / Crooks.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Well thought out opinion.
But then....you just couldn’t RESIST adding the last three words could you Sideshow? LOL
Keep reading!
Keep learning!

He should have stopped at easy. He missed it on Bernal.

While comical he does need some new material.
Can only lean on the same one liners for so long.

Melville wrote: ↑11 Nov 2025 07:07 am

Cusecards wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 21:54 pm

Talkin' Baseball wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 21:09 pm

Cusecards wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 20:29 pm

Melville wrote: ↑10 Nov 2025 19:05 pm Herrera will not start 60+ games at catcher next year.
The pitchers simply will not allow it.
Pages / Crooks should share starting duties in 2026.
Bernal should be traded to acquire talent at other positions of greater need - he is squeezed by others ahead and others behind.
Rodriguez is closing fast and should be considered the developing heir to follow Pages / Crooks.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Well thought out opinion.
But then....you just couldn’t RESIST adding the last three words could you Sideshow? LOL
Keep reading!
Keep learning!

He should have stopped at easy. He missed it on Bernal.

While comical he does need some new material.
Can only lean on the same one liners for so long.

Never about me.
Only and always about the game.
And providing perfect analysis of it.

rockondlouie wrote: ↑11 Nov 2025 09:00 am I'd toss Pages into any deal C. Bloom makes as a throw in, his ability to handle a pitching staff was vastly overrated (they stunk).