Coming into the season, the St. Louis Cardinals know they have a relative strength in their catching depth.
Yohel Pozo re-signing with the Cardinals meant they were bringing back virtually the same catching depth chart from last year, with Iván Herrera likely continuing to take most of his at-bats as a designated hitter and Pedro Pagés taking a lot of the starts.
Pozo, a 28-year-old Venezuela native whose journey to the majors was anything but linear, is hoping to establish himself this season as more than just a fill-in. And if his offseason body transformation is any indication, the Cardinals are in a good spot.
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Yohel Pozo posts weight loss transformation on X
Aug 20, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yohel Pozo (63) reaches first base on a passed ball in the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Pozo took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night to show Cardinals fans of his offseason of hard work. He self-reported a 33-pound weight loss, and judging by the side-by-side pictures of his physique from last May vs. this week, the difference is very noteworthy.
Pozo had under 300 X followers as of Friday morning, but the post garnered over 1,300 likes in the first 12 hours.
Consistency+Intent+Structure = RESULT🔥
33lbs⬇️ pic.twitter.com/UKL3c8jwfQ
— Yohel Pozo (@Yohelpozo37) February 13, 2026
The Cardinals likely expect Pozo to catch two or three games a week, though it’s always possible he could hit well enough to claim the starting job away from Pagés at times. Any contributions he gives them at the plate are something of a bonus, but there are a lot of positives to take away from his weight loss.
Sure, catchers often aren’t the slimmest players on a major league roster. But carrying around less body weight should take a lot of the strain off Pozo’s knees throughout the course of the season, and while he might never be a speedster, it’s not hard to imagine he might gain a little steam motoring down the first-base line.
Most of all, we can see how committed Pozo is to sticking in the big leagues. He joined the Cardinals following a three-year minor-league hiatus that derailed the momentum of his 2021 big-league debut with the Texas Rangers. He’s working to make sure nothing like that happens again.
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