The One Player the Cardinals Can't Afford to Trade

The St. Louis Cardinals shouldn't trade the young slugger away.

Jul 21, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera (48) hits a single against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With just a few days to go until the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals are trending in the wrong direction.

The Cardinals currently are 53-53 on the season and are in fourth place in the National League Central. Now, the Cardinals are 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot in the National League. There was a point a few weeks ago in which the Cardinals held the top National League Wild Card spot. Now, the Cardinals are on the outside looking in and there are actually two teams ahead of them also not holding a playoff spot. All in all, not the best stretch for St. Louis, to say the least.

St. Louis is 2-8 over its last 10 games and has a -5 run differential on the season. The last few weeks have been full of trade rumors, both about buying and selling. Right now, the club looks much more like it's trending towards selling, rather than buying. While this is the case, the Cardinals absolutely should not completely blow it up. One guy who the team shouldn't consider trading is catcher/designated hitter Iván Herrera.

The Cardinals Shouldn't Consider Trading Iván Herrera

Jul 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the trade rumors have picked up steam, the guys who have been talked about the most have been JoJo Romero and Dustin May, among others. Herrera hasn't popped up much, outside of a bit of speculation.

Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals' front office don't have an easy job ahead. If the Cardinals do sell, there's a real chance we see more veterans on the way out of town over the next few days, like this past offseason.

If the Cardinals were to trade someone like Herrera, who very well could be a core piece moving forward, it would arguably be bad for the team overall. First and foremost, Herrera is one of the club's top overall offensive weapons. He has played in 105 games and is slashing .244/.365/.380 with a .746 OPS, 12 homers and 44 RBIs. Losing production like that would obviously make it more difficult to win games, to say the least.

Herrera is just 26 years old and earned his first All-Star nod this season. In 2025, he was even better offensively, but injuries held him back. In 2024, he played in just 72 games, but burst onto the big league scene by batting .301 with five homers and 27 RBIs. There are few righty bats who have had the success he has over the last few years when he has been healthy.

Also, if the Cardinals were to even consider dealing away a young piece with team control like Herrera, unless it was in a package for a star, it would be deflating for the organization as a whole.

The last few weeks haven't been great, to say the least. But the Cardinals have shown a lot of promise for the future. Trading someone like Herrera would be a step backwards.