The Cardinals’ 2026 season didn’t end with a playoff berth, but it did deliver exactly what a young rebuild is supposed to produce: answers. St.
Louis leaned into development, let the kids play and watched Jordan Walker grow into a star after a few rocky years. That alone made the year feel like a step forward, even if the standings didn’t fully cooperate.
One of the easiest places to overreact was at catcher, where the Cardinals cycled through Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, Leo Bernal and Jimmy Crooks while sorting out what the future should look like. Herrera got the biggest runway, and the offensive profile still looked like his calling card.
From 2023 through 2025, he slashed .291/.375/.445 with an .820 OPS, 24 home runs and 97 RBIs in 192 total games played. In 2026, he posted 19 homers and 69 RBIs, both career highs or tied for his best, but his average fell to .241 and his OPS dipped to .735.
That drop, though, doesn’t have to set off alarms. Herrera stayed on the field for a career-high 161 games, a huge jump from his previous high of 107, and his advanced numbers remained strong. He’s still only 26, and the raw production was there.
Pages remained in the mix as a depth option, the kind of player who can handle pitchers and keep the staff comfortable. Crooks got his chance too, but the bat never really took off.
Bernal, meanwhile, gave the organization the kind of look it wanted most. Once he reached the majors, he stood out as a strong two-way player and changed the conversation at the position.
That’s why this doesn’t need to become a major issue moving forward. Bernal’s breakout gives the Cardinals a clear direction: he should be the guy, with a primary backup behind him. The season was built to reveal exactly these kinds of things, and at catcher, it did.
The same caution applies to Ryan O’Brien. He made his first All-Star team in 2026 and still managed to finish tied with Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres for the National League lead in saves with 38. The final line wasn’t spotless - his ERA sat at 4.08 - but the story gets a lot messier if you focus only on the number.
On Aug. 20, O’Brien owned a 2.94 ERA.
Then came a rough Aug. 23 outing in which he gave up six earned runs, and that one night pushed his season numbers in the wrong direction. He finished with a 4.76 ERA over his last 12 appearances.
Even so, he reached a career-high 66 games pitched, blowing past the 42 he logged in 2025 and the eight-game mark that stood before that.
Luis Gastelum followed a different path, but the ending looked encouraging. After tearing it up in the minors, he reached the big leagues for the first time in 2026 and made his debut on July 8. His ERA sat at 8.10 on Aug. 8 after 12 appearances, but he steadied himself from there and posted a 2.31 ERA across his final 22 outings.
For a club still working through a rebuild, that’s the real takeaway from 2026. The Cardinals didn’t just play out the schedule - they learned about Herrera, O’Brien, Gastelum, Pages, Crooks and Bernal, and in Bernal’s case, they may have found the answer.
In Other News...
Quinn Mathews May Be Giving Cardinals Fans Real Rotation Hope
Quinn Mathews arrived in the majors on Aug. 1 and has already given the Cardinals a legitimate reason to think about next years rotation a little differently. In nine starts, he has shown enough steadiness and poise to land in a small group of St. Louis pitchers who made strong early impressions, and his work has quickly turned him into a real candidate to fight for a starting job next season.
What stands out most is not just the results, but the way he has gotten there. Mathews brought minor league control questions with him, then sharpened his command once he reached the big leagues, a sign the Cardinals coaching staff has helped him make real progress. For a team that always has to keep an eye on starting depth, that kind of development is exactly the sort of encouraging sign that can carry well beyond one late-season audition. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Have Found A Brendan Donovan Trade Prize After All
Tai Peete has started to make the Brendan Donovan deal look a little more interesting for the Cardinals, even if the real payoff is still ahead. The 21-year-old center fielder came over in that trade and has spent the season turning heads in the organizations minor league system, where his offensive upside and speed have stood out despite some injury interruptions along the way.
Now hes carrying that momentum into the Arizona Fall League, which is often where clubs get a clearer read on just how loud a prospects tools can play against advanced competition. For St. Louis, Peetes rise adds another layer to a trade that already had plenty of intrigue, because if he keeps building on this stretch, he could eventually factor into a lineup looking for athleticism, on-base ability and impact in the outfield. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have A Real Rotation Reason To Watch Tekoah Roby
Tekoah Robys return to the mound gave the Cardinals something they have been waiting to see for a long time. After missing the entire 2026 season following Tommy John surgery, the right-hander made his first appearance in the Arizona Fall League and offered a reminder of why he had been regarded as one of the organizations more promising arms before the injury interrupted his climb.
There is still plenty of road ahead before St. Louis can treat Roby as a factor in its rotation picture, but the early signs were encouraging. Coming back from a major arm procedure is one thing, looking like the same pitcher is another, and Roby at least looked like a prospect worth tracking again as he works his way back into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]