The St. Louis Cardinals have created an unusual situation behind the plate, carrying an unusually large number of catchers while simultaneously developing several young players who could eventually force major changes to the roster. What initially looked like a roster-clogging problem may actually be part of a longer-term strategy that gives the organization time to evaluate its options rather than making an immediate trade.
The situation began last November, when St. Louis entered the offseason with five catchers on its 40-man roster: Pedro Pages, Ivan Herrera, Jimmy Crooks, Yahel Pozo and Leo Bernal. Carrying five players at one position was highly unconventional, although the Cardinals had some justification because Herrera was recovering from offseason elbow surgery and had also experienced significant throwing struggles. Even so, dedicating such a large percentage of the roster to catchers raised questions about how the club would eventually resolve the logjam.
As the season progressed, Herrera’s health concerns became less significant, and the Cardinals increasingly demonstrated that they still viewed him as a legitimate major-league catcher. His playing time gradually settled into a rotation, while Crooks eventually assumed a larger portion of the catching responsibilities. Pages, meanwhile, saw his role reduced. Pozo was ultimately designated for assignment when the Cardinals needed roster space elsewhere and was later claimed by Baltimore, leaving St. Louis with four catchers on the 40-man roster.
That number would still be unusual for most organizations, but the Cardinals have another important factor complicating the picture: Rainel Rodriguez. The young catcher has continued to perform extremely well at both High-A and Double-A, making him an increasingly important part of conversations about the club’s long-term catching plans. Although Rodriguez is not yet on the 40-man roster, his rapid development could eventually force the Cardinals to make a difficult decision about which current catcher no longer fits.
Why the Cardinals Haven’t Made a Trade
Many observers expected Pages to be traded before the deadline, and some anticipated that the Cardinals would move him during the upcoming offseason. But there may not be an urgent reason for St. Louis to make that decision yet. The organization still has time to evaluate its young catchers, and the current roster construction does not necessarily create the kind of 40-man pressure that would force an immediate move.
Pages, in particular, remains under team control and will not reach arbitration until after the 2027 season. He is expected to earn the major-league minimum in 2027, meaning the Cardinals have little financial motivation to move him simply to save money. More importantly, the club reportedly does not face a major roster crunch that would require sacrificing a catcher merely to protect a pitching prospect.
The bigger question is determining which catcher ultimately offers the best combination of offense, defense, durability and long-term value.
Pages appears to have earned the organization’s trust defensively, but his offensive limitations are difficult to overlook on a Cardinals roster that already needs more production. If St. Louis eventually builds a stronger offensive lineup around him, his defensive value could become more significant.
Crooks presents a different profile. Some evaluators believe he could eventually provide a better overall offensive and defensive package than Pages. However, his second major-league opportunity has not yet produced overwhelming results. The underlying numbers provide reasons for optimism, but the Cardinals still need to determine whether those projected improvements will translate into consistent MLB production.
Bernal may be the biggest unknown of the current group because he has yet to establish himself in the major leagues. Evaluators have disagreed about his offensive and defensive potential, particularly when comparing him with Crooks. His eventual arrival in St. Louis should provide another important piece of evidence in determining how the organization handles the catching position.
Then there is Herrera, who appears to be the easiest player to evaluate. His offensive ability is already well established, and the Cardinals have made a clear effort to keep his bat in the lineup on a regular basis. His offensive production is strong enough that some believe he could be an everyday player even if he does not catch every day.
Rainel Rodriguez Could Eventually Change Everything
Rodriguez could ultimately be the player who forces the Cardinals to make their biggest decision. His offensive development has become increasingly difficult to ignore, and his performance has put him on a trajectory that could make him one of the organization’s most valuable young hitters.
The Cardinals are also giving Rodriguez experience at first base, which could become particularly significant given the limitations created by Alec Burleson’s struggles against left-handed pitching. That experimentation gives the organization another possible way to maximize Rodriguez’s bat without necessarily requiring him to remain behind the plate throughout his career.
For now, however, Rodriguez may still be far enough away that the Cardinals can afford to wait. The organization does not need to determine immediately which catcher will eventually lose his job. Instead, St. Louis can allow the players to continue developing and let performance determine the outcome.
The Cardinals’ Potential “Three-Into-Four” Plan
One possible solution is what can be described as a “Three-into-Four” approach. The basic idea is to use three catchers while taking advantage of four lineup roles: catcher, designated hitter, backup catcher and first base.
The Cardinals have several factors that make this unconventional strategy potentially useful. They have more catchers than most teams, a first baseman in Burleson whose value can decline against left-handed pitching, and a productive catcher whose bat is valuable enough that keeping him fresh could be more important than simply maximizing his innings behind the plate.
Under this concept, the Cardinals could have one catcher behind the plate while another serves as the designated hitter. The third catcher could receive opportunities elsewhere, particularly at first base when the matchup calls for it. Because Crooks bats left-handed, Herrera bats right-handed and Bernal is a switch-hitter, the Cardinals would have considerable flexibility when constructing their daily lineup.
Against a left-handed pitcher, for example, one catcher could catch, another could DH, and the third could potentially play first base. That would give St. Louis another option for dealing with Burleson’s platoon disadvantage while simultaneously finding playing time for its young catching talent.
Against a right-handed pitcher, the Cardinals could use Crooks or Bernal behind the plate while Herrera serves as the designated hitter and Burleson handles first base. Such a system would allow the club to keep multiple productive bats in the lineup while reducing the physical demands placed on its catchers.
The proposed rotation could eventually result in the catchers splitting their workload rather than having one player shoulder the majority of the defensive responsibilities. That could help preserve their health over a long season while also giving the Cardinals the flexibility to ride whichever player is performing best late in the year.
Patience May Be the Cardinals’ Best Option
The most intriguing part of the Cardinals’ situation is that they may not actually need to force a solution this offseason. Crooks and Bernal appear to be players the organization wants to give more time to develop, while Herrera has already established himself as an important offensive contributor. Rodriguez, meanwhile, could eventually become impossible to keep out of the major-league lineup.
That means the eventual competition may resolve itself naturally. As Rodriguez approaches the majors, one of the existing catchers could become expendable, but it is currently impossible to know whether that player will be Pages, Crooks, Herrera or Bernal. The answer may depend entirely on how each player performs over the next year or two.
For Pages, the most likely scenario appears to be remaining with the Cardinals until Bernal is ready for a larger role. At that point, St. Louis could reassess the entire catching group rather than making a premature decision now.
Ultimately, what looks like a confusing catching carousel could actually give the Cardinals something extremely valuable: time. Instead of trading away a young player simply because the roster looks unconventional, St. Louis can continue evaluating its options, protect its valuable hitters through workload management and wait for Rodriguez’s development to clarify the long-term picture.
For a team in the middle of a broader roster transition, that patience could prove more valuable than rushing into a trade just to make the catching situation look conventional.
Leave a Reply