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 MiLB Demotion Will Have Big Impact Down The Stretch

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to have some tough decisions to make when it comes to playing time at catcher at least in the short term.

On Friday, the Cardinals activated catcher Yohel Pozo off the Injured List and sent infielder César Prieto down to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in the process. Prieto just came up right before September kicked off. The Cardinals called up catcher Jimmy Crooks and Prieto at the same time.

"Two of the top performers all season for Triple-A Memphis, catcher Jimmy Crooks and infielder César Prieto, were promoted to the Cardinals on Friday and made their debuts in the club's 7-5, 10-inning win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park," MLB.com's John Denton said on Aug. 30th. "Crooks, 24 and the No. 6-ranked prospect in the Cardinals' Minor League system, per MLB Pipeline, replaces reserve catcher Yohel Pozo, who headed to the seven-day injured list with a concussion suffered in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Pirates. Prieto, 26, will provide depth on the infield at third base and second."

What are the Cardinals going to do down the stretch?

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Now, the Cardinals technically have four healthy catchers on the big league roster right now, although only three of them are actually catching. Iván Herrera hasn't been catching for the team in a bit. But, the roster now has Pozo, Pedro Pagés, and Crooks.

There are just 20 games in the regular season. The Cardinals have had log jams at different positions throughout the season which has made it difficult to always have enough at-bats for guys like Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker, or Alec Burleson. Now, the Cardinals are going to have to figure out how to balance the catcher playing to give Crooks time to develop and show what he can do, while balancing the time for Pozo and Pagés. It's going to be interesting to see what the team does next.

There's a real argument that it would make sense to roll with Crooks the majority of the way down the stretch. But, with all three on the roster, what do you do?

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

More must-reads: