The Cardinals have found themselves with an unusual kind of surplus behind the plate, and that’s exactly why Rainiel Rodriguez keeps getting pulled into conversations that go beyond catching.
St. Louis still views Rodriguez as a promising catcher.
The organization has said as much, and Cardinals farm director recently praised his work behind the plate on my podcast, Dealin’ the Cards. That belief lines up with what Chaim Bloom said recently on the Seeing Red podcast with Bernie Miklasz and Will Leitch, when he addressed the growing idea in some circles that Rodriguez could wind up at third base long-term.
Bloom said the Cardinals were wondering why that theory had become such a strong narrative around Rodriguez. From the club’s side, the preference remains pretty clear: Rodriguez is a catcher. But he’s not the only one in the system who could be part of the future at that spot.
Leo Bernal is the other name that changes the entire equation.
Derrick Goold recently got to the heart of it in his Q/A over at STL Today. He asked manager Oli Marmol about the ideal way to divide catching time and framed it as a possible 100-62 split.
Marmol pushed back on the idea immediately. Goold wrote, “He stopped me and asked why would they want that.
I said there was a trend in the game to split time at catcher, reduce workload, and keep the catcher in play as a DH, similar to what they’ve done. He flipped the question by pointing out that Bernal is a switch-hitter, durable, and if they could start him 120-130 games why wouldn’t they?
They wanted to find out if they could.”
That’s the crux of the whole thing. If Bernal becomes the kind of everyday catcher the Cardinals believe he can be, there just aren’t enough innings behind the plate for everyone.
Rodriguez hasn’t reached Triple-A yet, and Bernal has only had a cup of coffee in St. Louis, so plenty can still change. But if Bernal really does turn into a catcher who plays almost every day, then Rodriguez’s path gets crowded fast.
The modern model would at least create some room. If the Cardinals went with a more split-heavy catching arrangement, Rodriguez could still pick up around 62 starts there and remain a meaningful part of the mix. But if Bernal is handling the bulk of the work, Rodriguez’s catching chances shrink to something much smaller, more like 32-42 starts.
And first base doesn’t offer much help. Alec Burleson is entrenched there, and the Cardinals want him to stay an everyday player. They’ve made it clear they do not want him sitting against left-handed pitching, which means that route doesn’t open many extra at-bats for Rodriguez either.
That leaves the obvious alternatives: designated hitter or third base.
If the Cardinals eventually trade Burleson or Ivan Herrera, the picture shifts. Until then, the reason fans keep circling back to third base is simple - it may be the cleanest way to keep Rodriguez in the lineup while still giving Bernal the catching job the Cardinals seem eager to let him claim.
Bloom also added another wrinkle on the Seeing Red podcast: Jesus Baez could wind up as a major league shortstop. If that happens, he could fill the Masyn Winn role while Rodriguez slides to third. That possibility opens up another layer to how the Cardinals might arrange their infield in the future.
For now, the Cardinals appear comfortable letting this sort itself out as the players develop. Rodriguez still looks like a major part of their catching picture, but the organization is also clearly preparing for the possibility that his value could come from a different spot on the diamond.
If he can hit and move around as needed, that may end up making him even more important to what St. Louis is building.
In Other News...
Cardinals Fans Can Finally Dream Big About Leo Bernal
Leo Bernal has already given the Cardinals something to think about. After getting into 24 big league games in 2026, he showed enough at the plate with a .284/.333/.474 slash line and five home runs to make it clear he is more than just a defense-first catching prospect. That kind of production matters in St. Louis, but Bernals calling card has always been the glove, and he backed that up by winning the Minor League Gold Glove Award in 2025.
What makes the early returns so encouraging is the way Bernal fits the long view behind the plate. Baseball America has already labeled him the likely successor to Yadier Molina, which is about as lofty a comparison as a Cardinals catching prospect can get, and the expectation is that he will be in the starting job by the 2027 season. For a fan base that has spent years measuring every potential catcher against a franchise legend, Bernal is starting to look like a real answer rather than just the next name in line. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Still Face A Key Coaching Decision After Search Setback
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With one preferred candidate now off the board, the Cardinals may need to cast a wider net externally as they look for the right fit. Casey Chenoweth is expected to remain in the organization and continue working with minor league players, but the major league staff still has an important decision ahead as the club tries to reset its approach at the plate. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Rumors Raise A Bigger Question About Chaim Bloom's Rotation Plan
The Cardinals offseason pitching search is already taking shape around a familiar kind of bet, with the club considering a short-term prove-it deal for a starter as it looks to stabilize the rotation. Jack Flaherty has been mentioned as one possibility, which naturally brings a lot of history back into the conversation, especially with St. Louis now under a different front-office leadership than the one that moved him out before.
Lance Lynn, who knows the organization well, has already cast doubt on the idea of Flaherty returning, pointing to the issues that helped lead to that earlier split. The bigger question for the Cardinals is whether Chaim Bloom and the front office want to chase the upside of a name like Flaherty, or play it safer with other short-term options such as Dustin May, given the injury concerns and age factors that make this market tricky. [Read more 🡒]