Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Cardinals Facing Catcher Question Any Team Would Want

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 12:16 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have a surplus of talented catchers in the system right now, which will lead to some tough decisions at some point.

St. Louis had four catchers on the big league roster down the stretch, although Iván Herrera wasn't playing the position after dealing with injuries. He has already undergone offseason surgery to put himself back in the mix for 2026, though. While this is the case, Pedro Pagés, Yohel Pozo, and Jimmy Crooks were all catching at one point.

Crooks is the Cardinals' No. 6 prospect and he's not even the team's top-ranked catching prospect. Or, even, the team's second-highest catching prospect. Rainiel Rodriguez is the Cardinals' No. 3 overall prospect and Leonardo Bernal is the team's No. 4 prospect. Rodriguez is just 18 years old so he's likely a few years away from being considered for the majors. But, Bernal is 21 years old and at least has a chance to make things interesting.

He made it up to Double-A in 2025 and shined. On Monday, it was announced that he is just the third Cardinals minor leaguer to win a Minor League Gold Glove Award since the award was created in 2011, per the team.

The Cardinals have catcher decisions to make

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

"Congratulations to C Leonardo Bernal (AA) who was named a 2025 Minor League Gold Glove Award winner," the Cardinals announced. "Bernal, 21, handled 890 total chances, recorded 839 putouts and 41 assists in 87 games (747.1 innings) behind the plate for Springfield.

"Among the 49 catchers with at least 600 innings caught across MiLB, Bernal ranked 2nd in stolen bases attempted (69), 4th in caught stealing pct. (39.1%) and 11th in fielding pct. (.994).He becomes the third #STLCards minor leaguer to earn the award since the honor was reintroduced for MiLB players in 2011, joining OF Victor Scott II (2023) & Carson Kelly (2015)."

On top of his great defensive play, he had 13 homers, 70 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in 107 games played.

When Spring Training gets here, it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals handle the position as a whole. If Herrera is ready to roll, the club could have four options with major league experience already. Even if Bernal doesn't crack the big leagues right away in 2026, he's a fifth option who is on the doorstep.

At some point, the Cardinals are going to have to take a hard look at the position. But, it's always a good problem to have too many talented players, rather than not enough.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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