The Cardinals may not be headed for another full-scale teardown, but Ivan Herrera still looks like one of the more interesting names to watch this winter.
At first glance, a Herrera trade doesn’t jump off the page. He’s a good player, a young right-handed bat, and someone the Cardinals could reasonably keep building around.
But the more you look at where St. Louis is headed - and the way the roster is being shaped - the more a move starts to make sense if the right deal lands on the table.
Herrera, 26, is entering his first year of arbitration and is under team control through the 2029 season. That kind of affordable control matters, especially with the way clubs value cost certainty now and how much more valuable it could become if a salary cap ends up in the new CBA. Teams would be buying three more seasons of Herrera at a very manageable price.
The bat is the selling point. Herrera has been one of the better young right-handed hitters in the game since his debut, even if last season was his worst at the plate.
The defensive side is still the question, though, and that’s part of why his fit in St. Louis isn’t as clean as it once looked.
The Cardinals have made it clear they like the idea of rookie Leo Bernal becoming an everyday catcher, the kind of player who can handle 120-130 games behind the plate. They also have top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez coming, and they believe in him as a long-term catcher too. That creates a crowded picture around Herrera.
If he’s not catching, the next obvious home is designated hitter. But that opens another layer of roster math.
The Cardinals want Alec Burleson starting against left-handed pitching, and they’re committed to Joshua Baez and Jordan Walker in the corner outfield. That leaves less room to shuffle pieces around, especially if Rodriguez isn’t going to be a regular third baseman.
Chaim Bloom recently offered comments that point in that direction, saying Rodriguez may not be a primary third baseman in the future and could instead play there only enough to keep his bat in the lineup. If that’s the plan, then the fit gets even trickier.
None of that means the Cardinals have to make a decision on Herrera this offseason. But it does mean they should be ready to listen if another club comes calling with a strong offer.
In Other News...
Cardinals Offseason Pitching Search May Come Down To One Veteran Fit
The Cardinals offseason checklist is already taking shape, and pitching sits near the top of it after another year of searching for more stability on the mound. The bullpen in particular needs attention, and one name that fits the clubs need for experience and flexibility is Nick Martinez, the 36-year-old right-hander who turned in a strong 2026 season with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Martinez declined a mutual option for 2027, which puts him on the market as a possible one-year fit for a team looking to patch multiple holes without overcommitting. For St. Louis, the appeal is obvious: he can work either as a starter or out of the bullpen, and that kind of versatility could matter if the Cardinals want to add one veteran arm who helps them cover a lot of ground at once. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Can Dream On Tarik Skubal But Bloom Faces One Test
The idea of Tarik Skubal in St. Louis is the kind of offseason daydream that can get Cardinals fans talking, especially with ESPN floating the fit. Skubal has built a rsum that would make him one of the most coveted arms on the market, and any club looking to accelerate a rebuild has to at least consider what a pitcher of that caliber could mean at the front of a rotation.
For the Cardinals, though, the conversation quickly turns from fantasy to reality under Chaim Bloom. Payroll remains a central issue as the organization tries to balance long-term planning with short-term competitiveness, and the cost of landing a premium free-agent starter would be steep even before factoring in Skubals injury history. The bigger question for St. Louis may not be whether he would fit, but whether Bloom is willing to break from the clubs current path to chase a name that big. [Read more 🡒]