Ivan

Herrera

It was Herrera’s third home run and 12th RBI of the season. The batting average hasn’t been there with a .230/.387/.379 slash line so far this season, but Herrera is hitting the ball as hard as he ever has and making more contact than ever with a nearly 95 percent zone contact rate. The production should come soon.

Herrera has now homered twice in his last three games while hitting safely in four of his last five. Herrera singled in the fourth inning to drive home Pedro Pagés to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead, and then smacked a two-run blast in the eighth to give the Cards a healthy 9-3 lead. Friday marks Herrera’s first multi-hit game of the season. While he’s starting to show a little more consistency at the plate, we need to see a few more games like Friday’s before assuming he’s out of this early slump.

Herrera will be behind the plate for the second time of the season. Nolan Dorman will be the designated hitter, and Ramón Urías will handle third base. Pedro Pages will retreat to the bench with Herrera behind the dish.

It’s a notable development from a fantasy perspective that Herrera will make his first appearance behind the plate after injuries limited him to just 14 games there last season. The 25-year-old backstop, who also dealt with knee inflammation during the late stages of spring training, should regain catcher eligibility in most formats within a few weeks, positioning him as an upper-echelon option at the position for the foreseeable future.

It sounds like the Cardinals are merely being cautious here but it’s a situation fantasy managers should monitor in the coming days. The 25-year-old backstop missed time early last season with a knee issue, which limited him to mostly DH duty for the final five months of the year.

Herrera caught today for the second time this spring. It’s not totally clear yet on whether the Cardinals see him catching once or twice per week or potentially starting over Pedro Pagés the majority of the time. Either way, he’ll be in the lineup as a DH when he’s not catching.

Herrera, who is recovering from surgery last month to remove bone spurs from his right elbow, will have an opportunity to resume catching next season after knee issues limited him to DH for the final five months of last year. The 25-year-old slugging backstop is expected to be a full-go at the outset of spring training. He’s one of the better options at the catcher position heading into next year with the caveat that he won’t pick up eligibility for a couple weeks in most leagues.

The deal is now official. Pozo’s return on a split contract fortifies the Cardinals’ catching situation behind Pedro Páges with Iván Herrera ticketed for DH duty until further notice. The 28-year-old backstop posted a .637 OPS with five homers and 19 RBI in 168 appearances over a career-high 67 contests this past season.

The procedure isn’t expected to impact Herrera’s regular off-season routine and he should be a full participant when pitchers and catchers report to spring camp in February. The 25-year-old slashed an impressive .284/.373/.464 with 19 homers, 66 RBI and eight stolen bases in his first full season as the Cardinals’ starting catcher in 2025.

Herrera knocked a base hit and scored a run in the first inning, then drew a walk in the fifth before slugging a three-run homer off Joey Lucchesi in the seventh to bring the Cardinals to within two runs. The 25-year-old backstop has homered in three straight games, giving him 19 on the season while slashing .283/.375/.471 across 437 plate appearances.