Ivan Herrera Trade Could Have Big Appeal for Yankees Despite Flaws

The Yankees are doing their due diligence in the catcher market ahead of the trade deadline.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera (48) hits a single against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As we inch closer to the August 3rd trade deadline on Monday, fans around the Bronx are wondering if the New York Yankees will address their catcher position, and if so, who will they acquire?

The best-case scenario for New York would be trading for Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins, who is solid as a hitter (.294 with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 47 games) and behind the plate (ranked in the 60th percentile in framing at 1), per Baseball Savant.

However, there’s a chance that New York might not get him, as several teams are on the hunt for a catcher, and the Twins are in the thick of the wild card race in the American League. That said, the next best option for the Yankees might be Ivan Herrera of the St. Louis Cardinals.

On Tuesday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Cardinals “could also be open to moving one of their catchers,” Pedro Pagés or Herrera. Then on Wednesday, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reported that Herrera “has drawn interest at least from the Yankees and Red Sox.”

Now, when Yankees fans first heard this rumor about Herrera on social media, some weren’t exactly enthusiastic about it, considering his limitations defensively behind the plate. Herrera, who has only caught 40 games this season while playing 66 at designated hitter, is ranked in the 40th percentile in framing at -1, per Baseball Savant.

When you compare that to Austin Wells, who is ranked in the 90th percentile at 4, it’s night and day. But the All-Star slugger would give the Yankees an offensive boost from behind the plate, which they desperately need.

Ivan Herrera would provide much-needed offensive solution behind Austin Wells

One of the biggest complaints from Yankees fans this season has been the inconsistent offense from Wells, Ali Sánchez, and J.C. Escarra.

• Wells: .162 average with seven home runs, 14 RBI, and a .534 OPS across 73 games
• Sanchez: .255 average with one home run, seven RBI, and a .656 OPS across 25 games
• Escarra: .188 average with zero home runs, seven RBI, and a .510 OPS across 32 games

While it’s good to see Sánchez doing the best he can as a journeyman catcher, he shouldn’t be outperforming Wells. That’s a bigger problem, and at the same time, New York can’t put all their trust in Sanchez to continue his play at the plate.

This is where Herrera comes into play. This season with St. Louis, the 26-year-old is slashing .242/.362/.377 with 12 home runs, 44 RBI, and a .739 OPS.

Herrera has much better success against left-handed pitching this season (.248 average with five home runs and 14 RBI) than righties (.239 with seven home runs and 30 RBI).

Those stats won’t wow most fans, but his splits are better than Wells’ (.190 vs. RHP, .103 vs. LHP) by a long shot.

Now, Herrera’s hard-hit rate (39.4%) and HR rate (2.5%) this season are lower than they were last year (48.2% hard-hit rate and 4.2% HR rate). And not to mention, he has a 49.0% ground ball rate (third-highest in his career). This has likely played a part in Herrera grounding into a National League high of 15 double plays.

Again, Herrera isn’t the perfect option at catcher like Jeffers would be for the Yankees or even Hunter Goodman. But the fact that his pull rate is at 25.8% (career best) tells me that he could play well in a park like Yankee Stadium.

That said, a combination of Wells and Herrera behind the plate for the stretch run isn’t a bad idea depending on the price. Herrera still has two more years remaining in arbitration, which is good for the Yankees.

Given that, plus teams likely knowing that the Cardinals have a surplus of catching options in the minors, the Yankees wouldn’t have to give up a huge haul for Herrera, maybe Spencer Jones or Jasson Domínguez.

And if that’s the case, it could allow the Yankees to ultimately part ways with Elmer Rodriguez, Carlos Lagrange, and Dax Kilby in another deal for Mason Miller. Needless to say, the next few days around the Bronx will be interesting as the Yankees are clearly searching for options to bolster this roster.