St. Louis Cardinals’ Catching Surplus IGNITES Trade Rumors! Mike Shildt RETIRES

St. Louis Cardinals’ Catching Surplus IGNITES Trade Rumors! Mike Shildt RETIRES

The St. Louis Cardinals have some depth in a couple of different areas, but one spot in particular is reportedly getting some trade attention from teams around the league. You are Locked On Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hey there Cardinals fans. I’m JD Haffron, a former national radio sports anchor born and raised in St. Louis. A lifetime Cardinals fan and I’m your host for Lock on Cardinals, part of the Locked On podcast network covering your team every day. Thank you to our everydayers for being here with us throughout the season and now the off season. We are not going anywhere. Other people are going to go away. We are right here with you. We are locked on Cardinal. So for those of you who are new to the show, welcome in. We hope you enjoy the content. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving you all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today’s episode brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So download the app today. On today’s episode, we’ve got some shocking news concerning former Cardinal manager Mike Schilt. Uh the ALCS game one was just last night, so that’s underway. NLCS will get started on Monday. uh what former Cardinals are still around to keep an eye on if uh that’s something that interests you. But we’re going to start with one of the spots that the Cardinals actually have some positive things going on at, and that’s the catcher position. Now, I don’t mean to say that as if like the Cardinals aren’t doing good things with other positions and other areas of the organization’s renovation or whatever you want to call it. Um you’ve clearly got some infield depth with names like you know Brennan Donovan and uh JJ Weatherhol Mason W Nolan Gorman Thomas JC Jose Firm mean Cesar Prito these are all guys that we saw at the major league level this year. Nolan Arnado is still on this team although we do anticipate a move this off season where he will get traded to a contender someplace that you know he feels comfortable and whatnot. Uh below that group of players though, you’ve also got a lot of youngsters like Jesus Bayz, which you got in that Ryan Hley deal. Uh Yo Padilla, uh Denille Ortiz who’s been on this show. Um so you love to see that they’ve got some depth going on there. The outfield, you got Victor Scott, you got Alec Burles, Jordan Walker, Lars Newar, Nathan Church, Matt Caperniac, Michael Ciani. Uh kind of lean, not a whole lot there as far as like star power. It’s why we really need Jordan Walker to, you know, like the Army says, be all he can be. That’s what we’re really hoping for. He’s supposed to be that guy. He’s supposed to be that star and that thumper uh in the outfield. Hopefully, that comes to fruition uh this off season and uh into 2026. Um after that, you’ve got some names like this year’s second round pick Ryan Mitchell that people are high on. Former 2021 second round pick Joshua Bayz had a monster season with Peoria and then Springfield. Former first round pick Chase Davis still trying to find the power which was his big thing when they drafted him. He was supposed to be this this slugger, this power hitter. Has this in incredible swing, very uh cargo type of swing when he used to play with the Rockies. Carlos Gonzalez for those of you who don’t know. Um but you know, he’s in the mix. still isn’t quite to where you’re hoping he would be at this point in his career. Um, but that grouping doesn’t feel quite as strong as some of the guys in the infield. Obviously, JJ Weatherhold stands out there. Starting pitcher and reliever, we know that that’s an area that they’re always going to be working on and trying to replenish. Uh, first round pick Liam Doyle leads the way. Quinn Matthews, Takakota Roby Ken Cooper Jerpy, Ean Henderson who was excellent this year at Springfield. Uh, Jin Lynn who’s in the Arizona Fall League right now. uh Nate Dome who they got in the Hellley deal, Bryson Mottz and a whole bunch of others, but they’re they’re certainly try to always add. You can never have enough pitching, right? So, you’re always going to want to add to those names and you’ve got a lot of those guys who are hurt right now. Roby Hence, Jerpy, uh Sim Robertson, another name, uh he’s hurt. So, uh you know, they they they need more depth there. But the one area where things look pretty pretty good, stacked up kind of nicely at this moment is the catcher position where the Cardinals had Ivon Herrera, Pedro Pahz, Joel Poso. Those were the guys for for most of this uh past season. Uh but beneath them, they boast three catchers who are in their top 10 ranking according according to MLB pipeline. We got to see number six prospect Jimmy Krooks come up at the end of last season. and he got off to uh a great start, you know, hitting that home run against the Reds to record his first major league hit. But after that, it was a struggle. He never hit another home run, never got another RBI in 45 plate appearances, and hit just 133 at the major league level. But he was the DA Texas League MVP and the Cardinals minor league player of the year in 2024. Last year in his first year at AAA Memphis, he put up solid numbers once again. Batted 274, 14 home runs, 79 RBI’s in 98 games. So, we know the talent is there. His batting average, the OBP, the slugging OPI, it all dipped, but that’s to be expected when you make the jump from double A to AAA. Still very good numbers. And uh, you know, the major league numbers were were not good, but first shot at the big leagues, and most rookies do struggle their first go around. Uh we saw Mason Win have similar issues when he came up and then obviously things have been better uh since that that first uh goround when he came up uh in a September callups. Um the next two guys are in the top 10 um as far as prospects for the Cardinals as well. Krooks was number six. You’ve got number three prospect Rael Rodriguez and then number four prospect Leonardo Bernard Bernal. Uh Rodriguez is just 18 years old. In his first full pro season, he played at three levels for the Cardinals. Went from rookie league to a ball up to high a poria. And along the way, he hit a combined 276 with 20 home runs and 63 RBI’s. Uh scouting says his hitting is ahead of the catching abilities. Uh Rodriguez will be a work in progress, they say, behind the plate as his glove work catches up to the bat. He threw out 32.4% 4% of attempted base Steelers in 2024, but evaluators questioned how his arm strength will play at higher levels. But at 18 years old, he enters the 25 season as the same age as an American League high school senior. And some believe if he showed this skill set in a prep environment, he’d be a first round talent at a premium position. Uh Rodriguez is also currently ranked sixth overall among catching prospects in all of baseball. and four of the five guys who are ahead of him on those rankings already made it to the big leagues this past season. So that tells you how highly they think of Renaell Rodriguez uh as far as MLB pipeline goes. Then at number four, you’ve got Leonardo Bernal who was a switchhitting 21-year-old catcher who played the entire 25 season at DA Springfield hitting .247 with 13 home runs, 70 RBI’s, 13 stolen bases. Although uh you know looking at his scouting grades speed not exactly what he’s known for. Uh the defense which is you know something you know you can’t look at stats and go oh he’s really good defensively. His scouting report says he’s an efficient and effective thrower on stolen base attempts. His 35.2% caught stealing rate was best among high a qualifiers last season. It’s risen into the 40s with Springfield this season. Bernal will be rule five eligible next offseason and should have a good 40man case as a well-rounded backs stop. Now with the depth of this position in the minors plus you’ve got as I mentioned Ivon Herrera Pedro Pahz uh we could throw in Joel Poso as well. Uh he is not a free agent. I I looked up as much as I could as what they’re trying to what they’re going to do with them. There’s no definitive answer on that, but the odds are that they they would probably try try to resign him to some sort of deal and uh you know, Poso likely will be in the mix. Okay, so um but teams have reportedly already checked in with the Cardinals on who is available. So Dererick Gold from the Post Dispatch had some thoughts on this situation for the Cardinals. I’m going to tell you what he had to say about it in one of his recent chats coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and you’ll get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. All you do is you got to pick a bet, you put down the five bucks and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Personally, I love how FanDuel gives me so many different ways to enjoy the app and to place bets. I I’ve built parlays. I’ve tried player props and I’ve even followed the live lines during game switch being a fantasy football guy. You know, that’s something that you always are intrigued by as well. You got two Monday night football games tonight with the Bills against the Falcons. Then the Bears at Commanders, uh MVP Josh Allen against arguably arguably the best all-around running back in football in Bjan Robinson for the Falcons. You’ve got uh the quarterback matchup here with former number one overall pick Caleb Williams squaring off against the number two pick in that same draft of 2024 and Jaden Daniels. I wonder if the Bears wish they had Daniels instead, but uh Caleb Williams has been a lot better this year. So, uh that should be a fun game to watch. Uh whether you’re a casual fan or you just love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fandle.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Thanks for making Lock on Cardinals your first listen every day. If you enjoy daily Cardinals content, you can follow the podcast on X at L_Cardinals. We’re also on YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram at Lockton Cardinals. Again, we’re going to be here the entire off season, so uh stay with us because it should be an interesting one for the St. those Cardinals who continue to make different trades and signings and stuff as they try to to get this thing back on the tracks. Uh, trading away from your depth to acquire other needs is a it’s a it’s a tale as old as time, right? The Cardinals have attempted to do this over the past decade with their outfielders, right? How many times have we heard the term log jam in the outfield? There’s too many. We got so many. They’re so good. There’s so many of them. We got we need to trade a couple of them away. That way we can get other things in return and uh you know we’ll be fine because we have so many of them and just about every time they’ve made a deal as far as the outfield go it has backfired, right? Some of them have the the names that have gotten moved or have gotten away. Randy Rosarena, Adolei Scarcia, Tommy Edmond, Lane Thomas. Uh they had to trade away Harrison Bader. Uh eventually they moved on from Tyler O’Neal. Meanwhile, guys like Dylan Carlson got to stick around and he didn’t pan out. Lars Newar, at least in my eyes, has not lived up to what I thought he was going to be. He’s been a disappointment. Jordan Walker certainly has been a disappointment and has struggled to live up to his expectations as a first round pick. So, it just seems like they just they they move the wrong guy each time. And John Moak even uh brought that up in a in a recent interview. He was on the uh that that morning show where they were talking about, you know, the Irania Rosarena thing and he’s like, you know, we had this, this, and this. And we thought we could trade one of those away and get a starting pitcher. We did it. Apparently, we traded away the wrong guy because Rosena obviously has gone on to become a pretty darn good player. Um, so when you talk about trading away from your depth at catcher, if you’re going to do this, there’s always going to be risk involved. There’s risk involved in every trade. You hope they don’t make the mistakes that they made with the outfield and they’re able to pick the right guy to move that will benefit the Cardinals in the long run. Uh Derek Gold from the Post Dispatch who covers the Cardinals recently had this to say about the catching situation in one of his recent chats says that that is an area of depth for the Cardinals at the moment that other teams have asked about. There is always a call on available catchers each spring and the Cardinals have two or three that other teams are wondering what they’ll do as they all arrive on the roster. Remember, the Cardinals must protect Bernal this winter from the rule five draft and they will. That puts as many as five catchers with Krooks, Herrera, Pah, Poso, and Bernal on the 40 player roster. It’s likely they look to remove Poso and resign him to a deal off the roster and then hang with four catchers on the 40 to prepare for what Herrera can show at the position with arm health and a winter of work. If I’m a team and I’m calling the Cardinals about a catcher and if my idea is to get somebody that is not a backup and is going to be a starter, I the guy I’m calling about is Ivon Herrera. We know that the bat can play at the major league level, but this past year he was unable to stay healthy. Eventually, they removed him from catching duties alto together so that they could keep his bat in the lineup. They wanted to save his legs. And I have repeatedly said after seeing what Ivon Herrera has done behind the plate in the last couple seasons, and I know it’s briefly, but I think Ivon Herrera should be moved to first base the way Contrus was, but Contrarus is still here. That’s one of the problems with no trade clauses is that if you want to open up a position for somebody, you have to ask permission from the veteran to see if he can be moved. Um, Contras is still here. Doesn’t appear that he wants to leave, although we’ve heard that he he’ll look at things if Heim Bloom finds something that he thinks is good for both sides. Uh, you’ve also got Alec Berles who is try as he might as an outfielder. It’s not about effort. It’s just about overall athletic skill out there. He doesn’t really possess that and would be a much better first baseman and has played first base this year. Um they gave some Herrera some time in the outfield as well this year. What do you have like four games where he played out in left field? He does run well for a catcher when he when he’s healthy. So perhaps that’s a possibility. Maybe he becomes a corner outfield guy and that’s where he ends up staying. I I don’t know. If you think about catchers that have moved to the outfield, the first name that came to mind was Bryce Harper where Bryce Harper was a catcher when he got drafted number one overall and they eventually moved him to the outfield and then he had the uh elbow issue and became a first baseman. Um so I I I don’t know. They’re they’re going to give Herrera a shot. They’re certainly going to give him a shot to become a catcher again. Um I just I just don’t think it’s gonna work. I just don’t think he’s good enough behind there. Um as far as trading him, Herrera would give you the most in return for sure. But no way am I trading Ivon Herrera. As much as we like Pahz and Po, great guys, great teammates. Poso was a really nice story. Uh had some very nice pinch hits. Uh, but neither of them possess anything that I would call special that would warrant a need to keep them around. We know that the pitchers like throwing to Pahes. Great. That’s great. He’s a backup. I would love I would love for Herrera to work out as a catcher. I really would. I think that would be great. And he would become your number one in 2026 and for years to come. Perhaps maybe sometime with I don’t know what’s that guy Yier Molina. you heard of that guy? Maybe that would help uh Ivon her out a little bit. I mean, who better to learn from than the GOAT, right? Um so maybe if Yachti gets gets on board and be has the time and becomes a full-time coach, maybe maybe that’s something that that helps Ivonne out. But if it doesn’t and Ivon Herrera does not work out as a catcher and he continues to struggle behind the plate, I I still don’t want to trade him. Hell no. just have to find another place for him to play whether it’s first or outfield or just DH if need be. Removing his bat from this lineup I think would be catastrophic in my mind. He he is a middle of the order bat where guys like Gorman and Walker have failed to become that person. Now if you had both of those guys becoming who we thought they were going to be, maybe you could move on from somebody like him, but not right now. No, I’m not doing that at all. So, I don’t see how they can afford to uh even discuss moving somebody like Ivon Herrera. Personally, I like I said, I’d rather see Herrera playing another position and then go into this upcoming season with Krooks and Pahes as your top back stops. I want Krooks as the number one because I want his offense. And you know what else is cool is that, you know, Krooks is the lefty, Pahz is the righty. So, when you got to give a day off, you’re facing a lefty, you’ve got that. You got a nice little mix there. Uh, and then I’d have Bernal at Memphis to start the year and then Rodriguez at Springfield for a full season. That’s how I’d do it. But I understand if someone comes calling and makes a solid offer for for PZ or an outrageous offer for one of the young guys. I don’t know how you don’t listen. I I think the Cardinals have to listen to anybody who’s calling at this point to just Hey, sure. Yeah. What do you got? You know, and if something blows you away, then you can pull the trigger on something. But I I can’t imagine them moving on from Ivana Herrera or either of the young guys in Rodriguez or Bernal. It would it would have to be it would have to be Crooks or Pahes. In my opinion, those will be the only two that you’d move on from. And I don’t think you want to move on from Crooks by any means. So, it seems like PZ is the guy that if someone’s going to get traded this off season as far as from the catching depth, he would be the guy that you’d be the most comfortable with. Uh, moving on from, you know, the Cardinals had Carson Kelly not that long ago because Yachti was in place. Carson Kelly was a very good catcher coming up through the system, flipped him in the Paul Goldmid deal, and that worked out pretty well for the Cardinals. So, maybe something like that where it’s a a group of guys to go along with Pahz to make a trade to go get somebody. Maybe that’s what ends up working out. I’m just I’m a big believer in Ivon Herrera’s bat so much that I bought a pair of his pants at an auction. Something that I was like, “Yes, he’s the he’s the young guy that I want to keep around.” So now you can’t trade him for sure because I own his pants. Uh does that sound creepy? Anyway, uh but I don’t think you can move them just because this is a team that, you know, the offensive star for production. You you need big bats and you don’t have many of them right now. I don’t know how you can afford to move him at this point, but let me know your thoughts and comments in the uh comments section down below on YouTube or below uh as far as like or on X at L_Cardinals. Uh if you had to make a deal, who are you moving knowing that, you know, the better the player, the the better the return? Would you move one of the young guys like Bernal or Rodriguez at this point? Because you don’t really know what their future’s going to be and maybe stock is so high that you could get something massive in return. Maybe that’s something you look into. Let me know your thoughts down below and on X. Um, up next, some shocking news today on former Cardinal manager Mike Schelt that everybody’s like, “What?” So, we’ll get to that and take a look at the MLB playoffs coming up on Locked on Cardinals. Most people can’t name all their financial accounts or even what they’re worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, what happens? you can end up leaving money on the table. And we don’t want money on a table. We want money in our pockets, in our accounts all the time. The more the marrier, right? And that’s why things like Monarch Money exist. 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Thanks for making locked on Cardinals your first listen every day. For your second listen, check out MLB Game Night. Every game, every night until the World Series champion is crowned, you’ll get local analysis on a national scale. You can find MLB Game Night on the Lock on MLB YouTube channel or wherever you listen to your podcast. Myself and John Fresh from Locked on Angels will be hosting tonight. Uh me and Brian from Locked on Yankees got to do it last night. I was on with Steve from the Locked On Red Sox post on Friday night. So I’ve been on MLB Game Night a lot recently, so hopefully you’re not worn out with me. But it’s a good time getting to talk about uh what’s going on in the world of baseball. Speaking of which, some breaking news this afternoon. Former Cardinal manager Mike Schil has stepped down as the manager of the San Diego Padres’s and is retiring. Uh he only managed the club for two years, still had two years remaining on his deal, but in a statement said that the the grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically, and emotionally. While it has always been about serving others, it’s time I take care of myself and exit on my own terms. Like nobody saw this one coming. A very eerily similar to his departure from the Cardinals just a few years ago. uh different circumstances. Obviously, Schultz stepping away on a on his own here and it’s, you know, his decision. This wasn’t the Padres’s pushing him out by any means, but um still what what where did this come from? 57 years old, so he’s not like some old man, you know, we’re not talking Bruce Bochi. We’re not talking guys in their 70s or anything. So, still relatively young at 57. Led the Padres’s to a 183 and 141 record since the start of 2024. The club made the postseason in both of those years, reached the NLDS in 24 wild card series this year, but were bounced unceremoniously by the Chicago Cubs. He is the first Padres’s manager to oversee back-to-back 90- win season. And um you know, this comes four years after getting fired by the Cardinals following a 90- win season. you know, his his second as a manager of the of the club that sent shock waves through the Cardinal fan base if you remember who who still to this day like go look at the comment section. Any time I do anything about Ali, bring Schult back. Schult shouldn’t have like people are still pissed off about that whole situation. They still don’t understand why he was canned when all he did was win. the philosophical differences explanation. It just never sat well with any of us with the fans. You know, some media people understood it better than uh but they never explained it. And that’s one thing that I hope he bloom is better at so far. He has been better at at explaining situations and why the Cardinals are doing certain things or why they wouldn’t do certain things. He’s been more transparent. Something that John Mosak was was not interested in doing. And fans are still worked up about it. Even though the team found success that following season after firing Mike Shield, they hire they hired uh Ali and they go to the playoffs, although they they get upset by the Philadelphia Phillies. Um but ever since that year, you know, the organization and this team has they they’ve limped on ever since. Uh as manager of the Cardinals, Shill was great for he went 41 and 28. remember in 2018 he took over for Mike Matheni. I was at Mike Matheni’s last game and I remember going out with my with my boys that night and I was like, “Dude, something’s going to have to change.” Even though the Cardinals were like one game over 500. It was just like this is this team should be better. This everything looks messed up. It looks broken. They let Schult take over. They fire Matheni. Shilt takes over. 41 and 28. They don’t make the playoffs, but uh he gives us hope that things are going to be better in 2019 and they were. He wins NL manager of the year that year. The team goes 91 and 71. They win the Central, but lose in the NLDS to the eventual world champion Washington Nationals. Um was that the NLDS or the NLCS? I’m trying to remember. But either way, they lost. It wasn’t even that close. Uh CO comes in 2020. Once again, they made the playoffs, but they they lost in the NL wild card series to the Padres’s in three games. Then in 2021, they go 90 and 72. They have that amazing 17game winning streak, which got them into the playoffs, but they lose in the oneame wild card game to the defending champion Dodgers. And then eight days later, Mike Schill gets fired. And we’re all like, what the? He finishes 252 and 199 with the Cardinals. Made the playoffs all three years that he was there as the manager to begin the season. And many fans still point to this as the moment that the Cardinals slide into mediocrity began when they fired Mike Shield who was up for manager of the year again. Like secretly I was like wouldn’t that be hilarious if he won but the Cardinals had fired him already because the awards hadn’t been announced. They don’t get announced till November but he was announced as a finalist and you’re like oh my gosh did they just fire the manager of the year? Wouldn’t that be nuts? but he’d already won it before. So, it was never on the field stuff. It wasn’t about winning it. It was about the vision of what the Cardinals were going to be moving forward that front office and Schult didn’t agree on. And, you know, Schult has said before, he’s like, you know, I sure there were disagreements and I never thought I was going to get fired for it, but it happened. uh he ends up, you know, taking a few years off and then then he comes to the Padres’s 183 141. The guy won was a good manager. He won in both spots and at both spots the inning came far earlier than anyone expected. Uh it now adds another managerial opening to a group that already includes the Angels, the Rockies, the Braves, the Orioles, Twins, Giants, Nationals. Uh Albert Puhol’s name obviously continues to be linked to the Angels opening. Skip Schumacher already accepted the Rangers job. We know Yadia Molina wants a managerial job has been linked to joining Ali’s staff for the upcoming season. So, the uh musical chairs as far as managerial positions go. Uh I’m sure it’ll continue after the World Series is completed. So, stay tuned. We’ll see what what ends up uh where who ends up landing where. Uh playoff wise, the Mariners shock the Blue Jays in game one uh on Sunday night. They win that one three to one despite a 15-ining marathon on Friday night to eliminate Detroit. The Blue Jays decide that they’re going to swing at everything. They just were like, “Ah, we’re going to be aggressive.” And they did not try to work uh Bryce Miller, who was a starter for the Mariners, and outside of that first pitch of the game by Miller where George Springer hits the lead off home run in the bottom of the first, the Blue Jays get one hit the rest of the game. their their advice, their their game plan to attack Seattle, it did not work whatsoever and they never altered from it. So, uh we’ll see what they do in game two uh tonight in Toronto where that offense will try to uh to get back on track and they’re turning the the ball over to Trey Savage, the rookie who pitched so well against the Yankees. Uh game one of the NLCS is on Monday night as well in Milwaukee as the Brewers host the defending champion Dodgers. Brewers went 6 and0 against them during the regular season. So, um, it’s not like the Dodgers should come in and just dominate this series by any means. Although, the Dodgers already eliminating the Reds pretty easily. Took care of the Phillies in four games. Like, they’re feeling pretty confident. And the Brewers had a tougher time with the Cubs than we thought they would. Uh, so we’ll see how that goes down. I’m rooting for the Brewers. My picks before the playoffs though were the Mariners and the Dodgers. To be in the World Series, if I had to choose a team to win it, I’d roll with the star power in LA. and that the elite starting pitching staff that they possess. Uh they’re gonna have Blake Snell on the mound tonight. Uh where the Brewers have, you know, as far as starters go, they got Peralta is very good, but then it’s Quinn Pester and former Cardinal Jose Canana. So that’s all they got. They don’t have any other starters. And then like the Dodgers can roll out uh you know, Snell, Otani, Yamamoto, Glass. Now they got they’re putting Clayton Kershaw on the roster as well. So, uh, a number of different options to be a starter. Um, some other former Cardinals that are still in this thing, uh, Rosana with Seattle, Edmond with the Dodgers, Eric Fetty with the Brewers, although he’s not on the NLCS roster. He He is still with the team, though. So, it wasn’t my eyes deceiving me because I could have swear I was like, is that Eric Fetty in the dugout? He’s with them. He’s there. He’s not on the roster, though. So, you will not see him uh in this particular series. So, anyh who, thanks for making locks on Carlos your first listen every day. If you haven’t already, please give us a follow on X at l_cardles at Janports Radio, Tik Tok and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinal. Let me know what you think’s going to happen uh for the rest of these playoffs now that we’re down to the final four. Who’s going to move on? Who’s going to be in the World Series this year? Hit me up in the comments section. Make sure you guys like and subscribe on YouTube. Honestly, it does wonders for the channel when you like and subscribe. You know, in a lot of places, uh subscriptions are not even nearly as close to the views that these videos get. So, if you haven’t subscribed, do me a solid and go ahead, hit like, hit subscribe, and uh be a part of this thing we call locked on Cardinals. You’re the best fans in baseball for a reason, and we’ll see you next time. Have a good one.

Cardinals’ catching depth sparks trade buzz. Is trading a catcher on the horizon for St. Louis?

JD Hafron breaks down the Cardinals’ impressive catching prospects, including Ivan Herrera and Jimmy Crooks, and analyzes potential trade scenarios. The discussion covers Jordan Walker’s development, pitching prospects like Liam Doyle, and how these factors might reshape the Cardinals’ strategy. Key topics include Mike Shildt’s surprising retirement from the Padres, its impact on St. Louis’ legacy, and MLB playoff predictions featuring former Cardinals.

Don’t miss this in-depth analysis of the St. Louis Cardinals’ path forward and the latest MLB postseason action.

0:00 Cardinals’ catching depth attracting trade interest

5:06 Jimmy Crooks: Top prospect’s MLB debut struggles

10:15 Risks of trading from depth: Outfield mistakes

15:53 Analyzing potential catcher trade options

25:10 Mike Shildt shockingly retires as Padres manager

29:46 MLB playoffs update and former Cardinals involved

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Gametime
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