St. Louis Cardinals Calling Up Former A's Minor Leaguer

The St. Louis Cardinals are calling up minor leaguer Yohel Pozo, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The move is coming due to Ivan Herrera landing on the IL with left knee inflammation, as club manager Oli Marmol told ESPN’s Buster Olney on the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.

Pozo will now be paired with Pedro Pagés behind the plate. Pagés is 4-for-10 so far this season as the club's backup backstop, with a homer, a double, and three RBI. Just three of the five games he's played in have been as the starting catcher, and all three have come against right-handed pitchers, but that could have more to do with when Herrera was due a day off.

As for Pozo, he will be back in the big leagues for the first time since 2021 when he was a member of the Texas Rangers. That season he got into 21 games for Texas, batting .284 with a .312 OBP and one home run. It was also his only stint in the big leagues.

In 2023 he came over to the Athletics, serving as a depth option behind the dish, though with Shea Langeliers catching 130+ games each of the past two seasons, there hasn't been much of a need for a replacement. The A's have typically rolled with their Opening Day backup catcher through the season, unless an injury occurs.

The past two seasons with the Las Vegas Aviators, Pozo hit .306 and .324, while belting 18 and then 15 home runs while playing in roughly 90 games per season. He finished the '23 campaign with a 99 wRC+, and last year at 110. If his bat is able to produce in the opportunities he's given with St. Louis, then the Cardinals could be in business.

He's not likely to draw many (if any) walks, but he's also not going to strike out a whole bunch, either. He's sat around a ten to 13% strikeout rate the past two seasons in the minors. Not that it's necessarily indicative of anything, but Pozo is 5-for-6 against left-handers in the early going this season, with a home run and three RBI.

Overall, he's 7-for-21 (.333) with a pair of long balls and six RBI with Triple-A Memphis.

While the hope is that this doesn't come to pass with St. Louis, Pozo has made six total appearances out of the bullpen as a member of the Las Vegas Aviators in blowout games. Four of those six outings have been scoreless, though he was touched up in Tacoma last season, giving up two hits and two walks, which included a three-run homer to Ryan Bliss.

Overall, he has tossed six innings and holds a 7.50 ERA with a 2.33 WHIP.

The Cardinals are off to play against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, where they'll begin a three game set against the divisional foe. With Pagés catching both ends of the doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, there is a good chance that Pozo will be in the lineup on Monday.

First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. (CDT).