Ivan Herrera spent 2026 showing he could handle more work, but one glaring problem still hung over his future behind the plate: the arm. The Cardinals gave him a long look at catcher again, and while his game-calling made a clear jump, the rest of the package came with some rough edges. His bat dipped, and his throwing remained the biggest flaw in his profile.
The numbers were hard to miss. Herrera threw out only one baserunner in 2026, and his 3% caught-stealing rate was the worst in baseball by a wide margin. That kind of weakness is the sort of thing opponents will keep testing if he stays at catcher, unless there’s real progress in that area.
Even with those issues, Herrera still has a path to staying behind the plate in St. Louis if he can solve the throwing piece.
On the Cardinals’ depth chart, though, the situation looks very different than it did before. Leo Bernal has already emerged as the club’s primary catcher, Jimmy Crooks is still pressing for a shot, Pedro Pages has shown he can handle backup duty, and Rainiel Rodriguez is on the way.
Herrera addressed the issue this week on the Cardinal Territory podcast with Jim Hayes. He pointed to the work he put in last offseason on his game-calling, but he was just as direct about what still needs fixing. He said improving his arm is the key to becoming a “very good catcher”.
“If I figure that out, I will be a very good catcher.”
Iván Herrera says his defensive prep took a big step forward this year. If he cleans up his throwing, watch out for a whole new version of him. pic.twitter.com/HmTtS6jHGD
- Cardinal Territory (@CardTerritory) October 15, 2026
There’s still a real case for keeping Herrera in the mix. The Cardinals already know he can hit, and this season gave him something else he needed: a chance to prove he can take on a full workload.
A down year with the bat doesn’t erase that. If the offense bounces back in 2027 and the defense catches up, he becomes a much more interesting player.
One wrinkle that jumps out from his numbers: Herrera actually hit better while catching than when he served as the designated hitter. In 2026, he was only a bit better than league average as a DH, but he put up a 121 wRC+ when he was behind the plate. Some hitters just seem more locked in with a glove on, and Herrera has fit that mold so far.
Bernal still looks like the Cardinals’ main man at catcher going forward, but that doesn’t mean the job is locked into one face every day. In today’s game, a primary catcher often starts somewhere in the 100-to-120 range, leaving plenty of innings for another catcher to share the load. If Herrera can sharpen the throwing side of his game, he could fit right into that rotation.
If he can’t, then the Cardinals may have a tougher decision on their hands. Herrera’s talent is obvious, and the hope here is that he rebounds at the plate in a Cardinals uniform in 2027.
But the organization has already seen too many promising players drift backward instead of forward, and this front office won’t be tied to the past. For now, at least, Herrera sounds committed to changing the story.
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