With a record of 19-19, the St. Louis Cardinals are exceeding most fans’ expectations for what was supposed to be a down year for the team from The Mound City. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the Cards.
First baseman Luken Baker has struggled to get it going and St. Louis is once again optioning him to Triple-A Memphis, according to the team website and first reported by Jeff Jones of Belleville News.
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Luken Baker is heading to the minors once again after struggling to get it going at the big league level.© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Baker is in his third season spending time at the big league level and his seventh in the Cardinals organization. He was a second round pick of St. Louis in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.
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In 2025, Baker has seen similar struggles to his first two seasons in the major leagues. Across 33 at-bats, he is slashing .212/.350/.273 with just two extra base hits and two runs batted in.
Baker’s time to prove he can make it at the major league level is quickly running out. He has slugged at the Triple-A level, collecting 86 home runs across 319 games in the highest level of minor league ball, along with a .879 OPS.
But that has yet to materialize for him in the big leagues. In his 73 games at the major league level, Baker has just 4 homes runs and a .655 OPS.
To replace Baker, the expectation is that St. Louis will activate Iván Herrera when they’re back in action on Friday in DC against the Washington Nationals.
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Herrera has missed the last month after being placed on the injured list on April 7th with what the team called left knee inflammation. If Herrera is activated like expected, that would mean St. Louis would be carrying three catchers on their active roster, with Herrera joining Pedro Pagés and Yohel Pozo on the active roster for the Cards.
Herrera was off to a red hot start before being sidelined with the injury, which included a .381 batting average and a game in which he belted three home runs, becoming the first St. Louis catcher to achieve that feat in franchise history.
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