Cardinals Made One Big Mistake With Leo Bernal

Sep 14, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leo Bernal (13) reacts after hitting a one run single against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cardinals Made One Big Mistake With Leo Bernal

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 15, 2026 7:54 AM ET

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Over the last few months, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leo Bernal was talked about endlessly as someone who should've gotten a call to the big leagues.

For example, we made the case after Joshua Báez was promoted to the big leagues, that Bernal should've been the next guy en route to St. Louis. A few weeks later, the Cardinals gave him his first shot in the majors on Sep. 1 and he has been nothing short of excellent ever since. So much so that he arguably looks like the Cardinals should've promoted him sooner.

St. Louis entered the day on Sep. 1 sitting at 68-70. They weren't out of the mix in the National League Wild Card race, but making a run was already unlikely at that point. Since Bernal was promoted, he has been everything the Cardinals have been looking for out of the catcher position.

He has played in 13 games and has slashed .327/.375/.558 with a .933 OPS, three home runs, 14 RBIs, three doubles and just 10 strikeouts. Bernal has been one of the Cardinals' best overall hitters since his promotion. He has a 165 OPS+ since his promotion, meaning he has been 65 percent better than the average big league hitter since coming up to the majors. That's absurd. Plus, he has been elite defensively behind the plate. Bernal hasn't been in the majors long enough to qualify for most advanced metrics, but there's a lot of red on his Baseball Savant page, to say the least.

Imagine if the Cardinals had him earlier in the second half of the season when the playoffs weren't out of the picture? The Cardinals are 75-76 right now and are 7 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Their elimination number is down to four. Having someone like Bernal earlier in the campaign would've made a big difference.

Leo Bernal Has Been Amazing For St. Louis

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before Jimmy Crooks was demoted, he was slashing .179/.255/.336 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 52 games played. Pedro Pagés has slashed .212/.263/.313 with four homers and 11 RBIs in 77 games played. It has been no secret all season that Bernal was tearing it up down in Triple-A. Imagine if the Cardinals had given him a shot even just a few weeks earlier? It could've changed things in the middle of the lineup. Now, of course, hindsight is 20-20.

Bernal has been incredible since his promotion and he should be the main guy behind the plate moving forward into the 2027 season. He just keeps getting better. Bernal set the Cardinals record for the most RBIs by a member of the club in their first 10 games of their big league career with 12. He also has the record for the most extra-base hits by a member of the organization in their first 13 games with six.

Leo Bernal's 6 XBH are the most by a #STLCards C in the first 13 games of their career

... And don't forget, he won a Gold Glove in the minors last season. Future is looking great pic.twitter.com/0L46XQzPFI
— STL Sports Central (@STLSprtsCntrl) September 15, 2026

Bernal has a bright future, to say the least. Fortunately, he's up in St. Louis now. But if only he had gotten the call earlier. Maybe we'd be talking about this Cardinals team being in a different position in the race for a playoff spot.

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

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