Cardinals Should Try This Approach with Ivan Herrera Before Considering Trade

He could be a trade candidate, but there are other things St. Louis should try first.

St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Iván Herrera (48) hits a solo home run during the fourth inning of their game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, September 25, 2026 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals have a seemingly endless supply of catchers in their system. They were hoping for Ivan Herrera to become the everyday catcher, but his defensive metrics, courtesty of Baseball Savant show that this may not be the best approach in 2027.

Will Leitch of MLB.com noted that because St. Louis has so many catchers, a trade could be possible. However, he mentioned another possibility, that he could learn a new position.

In truth, this may be the best course of action, as trading him would mean the Cardinals are losing a valuable right-handed bat who has been a consistent hitter at the plate.

What new positions could Ivan Herrera learn?

Herrera has been primarily used as a designated hitter over the past two years, but there have to be other ways the Cardinals can make him useful. The only positions besides catcher and DH that Herrera has played are first base and left field, and he doesn't have a lot of experience in either spot.

Still, he is familiar with them now and could be a candidate to take reps at those positions. If the Cardinals choose to put him at first base, he would have to split time with Alec Burleson. On some days, Herrera could DH while Burleson is at first base, and on others, they could switch roles.

Another thing they could potentially try is giving him reps at third base. He has struggled throwing out baserunners from behind the plate, but the landscape is different throwing from third base to first base, and he could even have chances to throw to second base, which is a shorter distance.

The Cardinals don't have third base quite figured out for 2027 just yet. Blaze Jordan could be the answer, as could Thomas Saggese. Jesus Baez is another potential option.

But if they want to keep Herrera's bat in the lineup but also try him at other positions, third base may not be a bad idea. Between first base and left field, the former likely makes the most sense. So, it should be interesting to see what the Cardinals decide to do.

Trading him is an option, but a position change is something that should be tried first before they even consider moving on from him, even with Rainiel Rodriguez on the way and Leo Bernal having claimed the starting catcher job for the foreseeable future.

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