How Cardinals' Ivan Herrera Impacts Nolan Gorman, Ramon Urias

How can the Cardinals get them more playing time?

Mar 5, 2019; Clearwater, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder Ramon Urias (64) at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals lost a tough game on Monday night to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. letting a 6-3 lead slip and allowing the Nationals to score six unanswered runs to pull off the win.

Ivan Herrera, who is commonly used as the Cardinals' designated hitter, got the start behind the plate. The Cardinals need to keep his bat in the lineup this season. However, they do want to find ways to get him some opportunities behind the plate.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Monday night's configuration is something the Cardinals can try at various points this season and allow them to not only keep Herrera behind the plate, but also allow opportunities for players such as Nolan Gorman and Ramon Urias.

How Ivan Herrera impacts Cardinals' Infield

Mar 30, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) is congratulated by right fielder Jordan Walker (18) after hitting a solo home run against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

""Pairing Herrera’s starts with McGreevy and Pallante, who started Monday, has the added benefit to the Cardinals of getting two birds in the lineup with one move," Goold wrote.

"With Herrera not at DH, Nolan Gorman can start there, and with Gorman at DH, that frees Urias to start at third when the position is likely to get a lot of action."

The Cardinals haven't exactly benefitted from having Pedro Pages behind the plate, so it would make sense to try this more often. While Herrera isn't known for his defense, he has shown a lot of progress as a catcher.

Meanwhile, this allows the Cardinals to put a Gold Glove winner at third base, which can really strengthen their defense and allow them to put out the best possible lineup.

Urias also hit a home run in Monday night's loss, so that would give them an extra proven right-handed bat with some more power. Pages is hitting only .200 with a .623 OPS, but Urias is already hitting .313 with two home runs and a 1.166 OPS.

And while Gorman's stats are a bit underwelming, this would allow him to get regular reps, even against left-handed pitching. The Cardinals won't know what they have in Gorman until they decide to give him a full runway for this season, even though he tends to struggle against left-handers.

So, having Herrera behind the plate more frequently could be the best way for them to generate as much offense as possible and allow other players more playing time as the season progresses.

We'll see where manager Oli Marmol lands in his choice for a lineup configuration.