Whatashame wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 10:36 am
Look, if Herrera is willing to work on his game to make himself a better player then that’s a good thing, right. Maybe he will suck or maybe he will come back as a better player. I don’t see him as an OFer and 1B is a little crowded right now. Maybe Bloom has a point and Herrera didn’t get much help in our system.
The cardinals have numerous catchers.
They need and have needed a RH hitting outfielder.
Herrera should play LF. Easier on his body, no need to worry about trying to throw out base stealers.
Except he has never played the outfield until the Cardinals put him out there last year. He has been a catcher and still wants to be a catcher. He’s willing to work on his game to be a better catcher.
Personally, I don’t think he’s an outfielder and I don’t think he wants to be an outfielder. Bloom and company want to work with him to be a better catcher and he’s willing to put in the time to try and be a better catcher. Sounds like a win/win to me.
if so, bloom needs to trade away at least 2 catching prospects for outfielders. Didnt the mariners just trade their top catcher prospect since they have an all star catcher.
JuanAgosto wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 11:47 am
So Bloom pointed out the fact that Mo didn't know what he was doing. Not exactly a revelation. The days of lazy, inept leadership in the front office are over. The putz is gone.
And yet Bloom hasn't fired anyone to blame for not developing our talent has he? I've never seen an organization do a successful 180 in strategy without some deeper level of housecleaning.
The question isn't really if he's good at throwing out runners or not. Say he's not. The question is, how many runs do we give up from having runners take 2B vs. how many more runs do we score having his bat in the lineup at C and having a good DH or 1B that is able to play as well. And how does that net number compare to one of the other prospects at C and Herrera at 1B / DH.
I honestly don't know the answer, but my instinct is that the Cardinals are a better +/- team with Herrera at C and 1B and DH slotted with good hitters.
Whatashame wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 10:36 am
Look, if Herrera is willing to work on his game to make himself a better player then that’s a good thing, right. Maybe he will suck or maybe he will come back as a better player. I don’t see him as an OFer and 1B is a little crowded right now. Maybe Bloom has a point and Herrera didn’t get much help in our system.
The cardinals have numerous catchers.
They need and have needed a RH hitting outfielder.
Herrera should play LF. Easier on his body, no need to worry about trying to throw out base stealers.
Except he has never played the outfield until the Cardinals put him out there last year. He has been a catcher and still wants to be a catcher. He’s willing to work on his game to be a better catcher.
Personally, I don’t think he’s an outfielder and I don’t think he wants to be an outfielder. Bloom and company want to work with him to be a better catcher and he’s willing to put in the time to try and be a better catcher. Sounds like a win/win to me.
Whatashame wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 10:36 am
Look, if Herrera is willing to work on his game to make himself a better player then that’s a good thing, right. Maybe he will suck or maybe he will come back as a better player. I don’t see him as an OFer and 1B is a little crowded right now. Maybe Bloom has a point and Herrera didn’t get much help in our system.
The cardinals have numerous catchers.
They need and have needed a RH hitting outfielder.
Herrera should play LF. Easier on his body, no need to worry about trying to throw out base stealers.
Except he has never played the outfield until the Cardinals put him out there last year. He has been a catcher and still wants to be a catcher. He’s willing to work on his game to be a better catcher.
Personally, I don’t think he’s an outfielder and I don’t think he wants to be an outfielder. Bloom and company want to work with him to be a better catcher and he’s willing to put in the time to try and be a better catcher. Sounds like a win/win to me.
Hoosier59 wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 11:12 am
Now it’s being reported that Ivan is going to play for Panama in the WBC! I’m not really surprised by this, he is one of the best players from there, but it’s got to really hurt his development and his chances of being the Cardinals’ opening day catcher. I like the WBC, but the timing of it stinks.
Hoosier59 wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 11:12 am
Now it’s being reported that Ivan is going to play for Panama in the WBC! I’m not really surprised by this, he is one of the best players from there, but it’s got to really hurt his development and his chances of being the Cardinals’ opening day catcher. I like the WBC, but the timing of it stinks.
Bingo!
If it was held in November, a couple weeks after the WS, then I'd love it.
Galatians221jb1 wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 09:04 am
From Ben Hochman's article this morning. Bloom says he isn't ripping anybody but then rips. So good to know that he gets it. Talking about Herrera returning to the catcher position.
"Two, and these are Chaim Bloom’s words, but: “When you look at the entirety of his career, I'm not sure he was ever really set up for success at that position because of a number of factors. And that's not a negative or taking shots at anybody. Some of it's just about the state of the organization — what else is available at the position internally, where you might not get that fair shot, and yet you're being asked to perform in the big leagues, and so you're not in a pure teaching environment, either. …
“I just think this we haven't done everything yet that we should be doing to support him as a young catcher. And we have a chance to play catch-up on that now, and it seemed to me to be something worth doing.”"
I've spoken frequently about how the Cardinals were not setting their players up to have success. ecleme in particular disputed that notion... and even here in this thread, you see people that want to pretend that the Cardinals didn't have an issue with player development. There's willfull ignorance, then some are just too stubborn to admit the painful truth.
Whatashame wrote: ↑10 Dec 2025 10:36 am
Look, if Herrera is willing to work on his game to make himself a better player then that’s a good thing, right. Maybe he will suck or maybe he will come back as a better player. I don’t see him as an OFer and 1B is a little crowded right now. Maybe Bloom has a point and Herrera didn’t get much help in our system.
The cardinals have numerous catchers.
They need and have needed a RH hitting outfielder.
Herrera should play LF. Easier on his body, no need to worry about trying to throw out base stealers.
Except he has never played the outfield until the Cardinals put him out there last year. He has been a catcher and still wants to be a catcher. He’s willing to work on his game to be a better catcher.
Personally, I don’t think he’s an outfielder and I don’t think he wants to be an outfielder. Bloom and company want to work with him to be a better catcher and he’s willing to put in the time to try and be a better catcher. Sounds like a win/win to me.
Potent Bat
Weak inaccurate arm
Avg to poor defensively behind plate
Not good at calling a game
History of leg issues leading to extended recovery time