The Cardinals have built something rare behind the plate, and that kind of depth usually turns into currency.
St. Louis has Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés and Jimmy Crooks on the active roster, with Leo Bernal and Yohel Pozo in Triple-A Memphis and 19-year-old Rainiel Rodriguez rising in Double-A. That’s a crowded room by any standard, and MLB insider Ken Rosenthal believes the surplus gives Chaim Bloom and the front office a clear path at the trade deadline: use one of those catchers to land controllable pitching.
That kind of move makes sense because other clubs are always hunting for catching help, especially when it comes with years of control attached. The Cardinals, for once, have options to spare.
Not every name in that group is truly available, though. Rodriguez looks like the one St.
Louis should treat as untouchable. He’s still a teenager, but he has already shown an advanced feel both at the plate and behind it, which is exactly why the organization should be careful with him.
Crooks is a trickier case. He entered the season as a FanGraphs top-100 prospect, and while he’s older - he turns 25 later in July - and struggled in his limited big-league look with a 31 wRC+ in 111 plate appearances, his defense is strong and he has had some big offensive seasons in the minors.
Herrera is in a different bucket altogether. At this point, he looks more like a designated hitter, but his bat is good enough that moving him during a surprisingly competitive season would be hard to justify.
That leaves Pagés, Pozo and Bernal as the most obvious trade chips. Pagés brings excellent defense but a below-average bat.
Pozo is blocked at the major-league level. Bernal, 22, has tools that stand out.
Crooks could also be folded into that group, though the Cardinals are almost certain to keep at least one of him or Bernal.
The bigger point is simple: St. Louis has multiple big-league-caliber catchers who are still pre-arbitration or haven’t debuted yet. That kind of asset can bring back a serious return, and the Padres’ deal for Freddy Fermin last year is the kind of example that shows how expensive catching can get.
Bloom probably won’t move more than one catcher in the middle of the season. But if the Cardinals want to turn a strength into a need, this is the spot to do it. One of those backstops could headline a deal for the controllable pitching this roster still needs.
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For the front office, the timing matters as much as the talent. The extension buys out multiple years of Wetherholts free agency and keeps him in St. Louis well beyond his initial contract window, a clear bet that his value will only keep climbing from here. With the Cardinals already seeing real production from him, the move gives the club cost certainty and a centerpiece to plan around, even if the full financial shape of the agreement is still the part everyone will be talking about. [Read more 🡒]