Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera drives in a run during a game against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, May 25, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Eli Randolph, Post-Dispatch
BALTIMORE — The day after catching for one of the few times since he returned from injury, Ivan Herrera huddled with pitching coach Dusty Blake on Wednesday to go through his game behind the plate, pitch by pitch, and discuss execution and alternative options.
“It’s not just the arm that he’s developing,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “A lot of it is game-calling and when to flip the script and when not to, when to stick with it. Even after he catches on a day like today, he sits with Dusty for quite some time and goes over every single pitch. It’s extremely important he gets that immediate feedback.”
It’s just as important he continues to get starts at catcher, the Cardinals say.
While Herrera has used regular starts at designated hitter to establish himself as an ascending middle-order hitter for the Cardinals, the club does not want to abandon his upside as a catcher and pigeonhole him at DH — not at age 24. His start at catcher Tuesday night was only his third in his 16 games back from the injured list. He’s started the other 13 at DH — hit like one, too, with a .351 batting average and .892 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) as the Cardinals have gone 11-5 in those games.
People are also reading…
Marmol said the goal is to get Herrera a start or two at catcher per week.
Experience is vital to improvement.
“You do have to mix in opportunities for him to catch (also) because it does free up the DH for Willson (Contreras) to get off his feet,” the manager added.
What that means for Herrera’s development as a catcher is most of it is happening behind the scenes, hours before he plays to hit.
Herrera said he spends time each day he starts at DH going through his drills to improve and remain sharp at catcher. This past offseason, Herrera visited Driveline to go through am arm-strengthening program similar to a pitcher trying to increase his velocity. Herrera and the Cardinals want to hasten and improve his throws to second base to make him less vulnerable to stolen bases. The Orioles stole three bases in their loss Tuesday night, and opponents are 10 for 10 this season on attempts vs. Herrera and 65 for 69 since the start of last season.
Herrera’s offseason regimen to improve his arm became an in-season routine that Herrera did have to stop earlier because of some arm discomfort. That meant his days off from catching were also days off from that routine, Marmol said.
Herrera said he’s been able to resume the training now while starting at DH.
Herrera participates in pre-game planning and scouting meetings with the starting pitcher, other catchers and coaches. On Monday ahead of the first game of the series against Baltimore, Herrera sat with catchers Yohel Pozo and Pedro Pages as they mapped out the game with right-hander Erick Fedde. During the game, in the half-inning when he’s not in the field, Herrera is near pitching coach Blake and discussing how the catcher is calling the game.
“I think it helps for sure, and if anything, it’s his confidence as well as understanding,” Marmol said.
The headliner of the Cardinals’ collection of catching prospects that is starting to gather at higher levels, Herrera reached the majors in 2022 and returned to the minors that year with a homework assignment to improve his preparation for games and feel for calling them. He’s advanced steadily as a receiver and framer at the same time. The past few seasons have also included improvements to his footwork and throwing mechanics.
All of it has been to maximize his potential by pairing the production Herrera’s has shown at the plate with the ability to be a regular behind it.
During this season with an emphasis on development, the Cardinals don’t want Herrera to stall at catcher due to a lack of playing time and only thrive or be viewed as a hitter.
“I agree,” Marmol said when presented with that premise. “I completely agree.”
Saving Helsley
The Cardinals’ All-Star closer Ryan Helsley received two days away from availability after appearing in back-to-back ninth innings over the weekend against Arizona. Helsley threw 31 pitches in a prolonged ninth during Saturday’s victory — the official scorer awarded him the win for it, not a save — and that piled up more than 50 pitches on him on an 18-hour span.
He had a day entirely off Sunday, and the Cardinals were hands-off with him Monday to give him adequate time to recover. He was available late Tuesday to close out the 7-4 win for his 11th save of the season. The alternative was using another reliever in Saturday’s game to keep Helsley available — but with no guarantee he’d be needed.
“I enjoy winning, so I go Helsley Game 1 (on Friday), Helsley Game 2 (on Saturday) and I figure it out in Game 3,” Marmol said. “You have no idea what Game 3 is going to look like, so securing Game 2 is the play.”
The nature of the Cardinals’ games has limited Helsley’s workload so far this season. The outing Tuesday was his 19th of the season, and he has 11 saves in those appearances. At this point a year ago, Helsley had appeared in 24 games and collected 17 saves.
“You’re sharper when you’re out there more often,” Marmol agreed. “There will be a month when he’s asking for a breather.”
Extra bases
Brendan Donovan (left hip tightness) returned the lineup after missing a day with his .328 average that leads second basemen.
Donovan’s absence from Tuesday’s game influenced the choice in the sixth inning, Marmol said, to let Nolan Gorman bat against Orioles lefty Gregory Soto with the potential tying run at third base. Marmol explained late Tuesday that he would have gone to a pinch hitter in a later inning for that moment, but with no Donovan and right-handed relievers lurking in the Orioles bullpen for the late inning, he preferred to stay with Gorman in that moment.
The only other option was to pinch-hit Pozo and then send Jose Barrero in to play second. That would have exhausted the bench. In the eighth, Gorman got the at-bat against a right-hander and tripled.
Veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson, a Cardinal this past season and a Mizzou alum, reportedly signed with the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. He spent time this season with Baltimore before his release this month after going 0-3 with a 16.78 ERA in four starts.Before Wednesday’s game, the Orioles promoted former Cardinals reliever Matt Bowman to add a fresh arm to their bullpen. Bowman debuted with the Cardinals in 2016. He’s spent the parts of this season and last with Baltimore.
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!