Iván Herrera is the Cardinals’ offseason question that refuses to go away.
St. Louis already made a long list of tough calls over the last year, moving Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray last offseason before sending out Lars Nootbaar, Dustin May and JoJo Romero this summer.
Herrera was in the trade conversation too, but the Cardinals held on to him. That decision made sense then.
The bigger issue is whether it still does once the winter starts.
The case for Herrera is obvious. He’s shown he can hit with the best right-handed bats around, and the numbers back it up.
In 2024, he hit .301 in 72 games. In 2025, he hit .284 in 107 games.
He broke out with 19 homers last year, though injuries were part of that season, and this year he earned his first All-Star selection. Across a career-high 155 games, he’s slashing .247/.358/.388 with a .746 OPS, along with 18 home runs, 68 RBIs, eight stolen bases, 26 doubles and 95 runs scored.
The bat plays. Herrera has power, he doesn’t whiff much, and he’s proven he can hit for average even if that part of his game has slipped in 2026. The problem is where he fits.
St. Louis has already signaled that Leo Bernal will be the catcher heading into Spring Training.
Bernal has been excellent since getting promoted, both at the plate and behind it. The biggest separator is defense, where Bernal is already significantly better than Herrera.
Pedro Pagés is also a stronger defender than Herrera, and with Pagés under team control beyond the 2026 season, the Cardinals have plenty of catching depth in the system. Jimmy Crooks and Rainiel Rodríguez are both down in the minors as part of that crowd.
That leaves the Cardinals with a simple but uncomfortable question: do they keep Herrera around mostly as a designated hitter, or do they move him for prospects?
The answer depends on how quickly St. Louis believes it can get back into contention.
The club has already traded seven legit veteran players dating back to last offseason, and Herrera still has three seasons of team control left. That kind of player can bring back a pretty penny if the Cardinals decide to listen.
Herrera was already floated as a possible trade chip before the deadline this summer, and that conversation could easily resurface. Whether the Cardinals hold tight again or finally decide to cash in is going to be one of the biggest topics of the offseason.
In Other News...
Cardinals Are Starting To Feel Better About That Brendan Donovan Trade
The early returns on the Brendan Donovan trade are starting to look better for the Cardinals, at least from the standpoint of what came back to St. Louis. In the three-team deal with Seattle, the Cardinals added Jurrangelo Cijntje, Tai Peete, Colton Ledbetter and two draft picks, and Peete in particular has given the organization a reason to feel encouraged with his recent work at Double-A Springfield.
Peetes strong stretch has been highlighted by a five-hit game in the Texas League Championship Series, the kind of performance that can quickly change how a trade is remembered around a front office. Donovan, meanwhile, has been limited to 39 games for the Mariners this season because of injuries, which only adds to the sense that the Cardinals may have found more long-term value than they first appeared to be giving up. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Enter Offseason With 3 Roster Calls That Could Get Ruthless
The Cardinals are finishing the 2026 season with a clearer sense of where the roster still falls short, even after signs of progress under president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. The biggest needs remain easy to spot: the starting rotation, the bullpen and third base all look like areas that could get attention once the offseason begins, and that means some of the players currently in place may not be as safe as they once seemed.
Nolan Gorman, Jos Pags and Ryan Stanek are among the names being mentioned as possible departures as the front office weighs performance against long-term fit. For a club trying to move forward without getting stuck in the middle, those are the kinds of decisions that can turn an ordinary winter into a ruthless one, with Bloom forced to decide which pieces still belong in the next version of the Cardinals and which ones do not. [Read more 🡒]
Ivan Herrera's Cardinals Future Suddenly Looks Far Less Certain
Ivan Herrera entered the season with a chance to settle in as part of the Cardinals long-term catching picture, but the year has not exactly gone as planned. He has stayed healthy and continued to get regular playing time in St. Louis, yet the offense has slipped enough to make the situation feel less secure than it did a few months ago.
Leonardo Bernals arrival only adds to the pressure, especially after the rookie has flashed enough at the plate to make him look like a real candidate to take over behind the dish by 2027. Add in the progress of minor league prospects Rainiel Rodriguez and Jesus Baez, and Herreras path no longer looks as clear as it once did. The Cardinals still have time to sort it out, but the competition for catching roles is starting to look very real. [Read more 🡒]