Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals' Yohel Pozo Shows Off Results of Offseason Weight Loss

Will a reinvigorated Pozo make a difference?
Jackson Roberts|
Jul 5, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Yohel Pozo (63) reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Jul 5, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Yohel Pozo (63) reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

Coming into the season, the St. Louis Cardinals know they have a relative strength in their catching depth.

Yohel Pozo re-signing with the Cardinals meant they were bringing back virtually the same catching depth chart from last year, with Iván Herrera likely continuing to take most of his at-bats as a designated hitter and Pedro Pagés taking a lot of the starts.

Pozo, a 28-year-old Venezuela native whose journey to the majors was anything but linear, is hoping to establish himself this season as more than just a fill-in. And if his offseason body transformation is any indication, the Cardinals are in a good spot.

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Yohel Pozo posts weight loss transformation on X

Yohel Pozo
Aug 20, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yohel Pozo (63) reaches first base on a passed ball in the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Pozo took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night to show Cardinals fans of his offseason of hard work. He self-reported a 33-pound weight loss, and judging by the side-by-side pictures of his physique from last May vs. this week, the difference is very noteworthy.

Pozo had under 300 X followers as of Friday morning, but the post garnered over 1,300 likes in the first 12 hours.

The Cardinals likely expect Pozo to catch two or three games a week, though it's always possible he could hit well enough to claim the starting job away from Pagés at times. Any contributions he gives them at the plate are something of a bonus, but there are a lot of positives to take away from his weight loss.

Sure, catchers often aren't the slimmest players on a major league roster. But carrying around less body weight should take a lot of the strain off Pozo's knees throughout the course of the season, and while he might never be a speedster, it's not hard to imagine he might gain a little steam motoring down the first-base line.

Most of all, we can see how committed Pozo is to sticking in the big leagues. He joined the Cardinals following a three-year minor-league hiatus that derailed the momentum of his 2021 big-league debut with the Texas Rangers. He's working to make sure nothing like that happens again.

More MLB: Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Gets Projected Lineup Spot for Opening Day

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding St. Louis Cardinals On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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