Cardinals Tease Ivan Herrera's 2026 Role with Thursday's Lineup

Herrera will be the club's designated hitter in Thursday's action. He is getting more looks behind the plate this spring so the Cardinals can see if he is truly the catcher of the future.

However, they also have given him reps in the outfield this spring, and they have even allowed him to try playing first base. All four potential roles would make sense for Herrera. He has struggled defensively as a catcher, but the Cardinals need to keep his bat in the lineup somehow, and no matter how they do it, it just matters that he is in the starting nine each day.

Given where he is on Thursday, it looks very likely that the DH spot is going to be his home for 2026. It's too early to tell for sure, but putting him in the DH spot allows the Cardinals to start Pedro Pages every day, who pitchers are more comfortable throwing to.

Another thing this does is allow more playing time for Yohel Pozo, Jimmy Crooks and Leonardo Bernal. This doesn't mean they should give up on Herrera as a catcher entirely, but at this point, it looks like the DH spot is going to be where he sees most of his time in 2026 and possibly even beyond.

The Cardinals have a lot of catchers and not enough places to put them, so it would seem that the Cardinals may soon be putting an end to Herrera's time as a regular catcher. This makes perfect sense as long as his bat is still in the lineup, as that makes them a far better team offensively.

We'll see if this role sticks, but this might be where he ends up spending most of his time, but it also makes sense to try him in the outfield and at first base some.