Well, I never thought I鈥檇 write one like this.
But because the Cardinals are trying to build for the future, here come some bizarre words published in the 不良研究所导航网址: It makes sense for them to trade their best hitter from the past two years.
And, frankly, Willson Contreras doesn鈥檛 deserve to have to suffer through the 2025 St. 不良研究所导航网址 Cardinals鈥 season. This is a man who devoted his body and heart to play for the organization 鈥 and he did so resiliently and resplendently. He tallied an .826 OPS in 2023, followed by an .848 OPS in 2024. So, trade the man. Get prospects and lower your payroll. He deserves to play for the playoffs. And, as we鈥檒l get into here, the Cardinals are set up at his position to, as they say, 鈥渓et the kids play.鈥
Trading Contreras would mean the catcher spot is open to Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages, who played admirably during the Contreras injuries last year.
Am I sold on Herrera as big-league catcher? No. Am I sold on Herrera as a big-league hitter? Absolutely.
Herrera, who turned 24 last June, needs to bat in every game in 2025.
Last season, the right-handed hitter hit .301 in 229 at-bats. His OPS was a nice and neat .800. And his walk rate of nearly 10% was quite good.
As for some of the fancy stats, well, they were even better than the regular stats.
His expected batting average, based on the quality of the balls he put into play? It would鈥檝e classified as 鈥渆lite鈥 on Baseball Savant if he had qualified.
And his xwOBA? It was .369, tops on the Cardinals. Yes, he had only 229 at-bats and 259 plate appearances. But if the .369 had qualified, it would鈥檝e ranked 16th in all of Major League Baseball.
OK, then check this out. Of players with at least 250 plate appearances (thus an expanded number of hitters), Herrera finished 21st in MLB. That鈥檚 exemplary. It was just below Freddie Freeman and just better than Mookie Betts, Jurickson Profar and Bryce Harper.
And here鈥檚 a stat that pops from number-cruncher on X). Only five rookie hitters (with 250 plate appearances or more) had a contact rate above 75% and a hard-hit rate above 40%. They were Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio, Andy Pages, Wyatt Langford and Ivan Herrera.
One minor detail is that the catcher doesn鈥檛 catch well. Or, specifically, throw out runners well. Last year, a player tried to run on Herrera 59 times 鈥 that resulted in 55 stolen bases and four times caught stealing.
Now, in other catching categories, he rated much (muuuuuch) better. Per Baseball Savant, he was in the 72nd percentile for blocks above average and the 61st percentile for framing. So he鈥檚 not a lost cause. Maybe the new slew of coaches, instructors and statheads in the Cards鈥 organization can help Herrera improve. Or, maybe you just have Pages catch all the games and move Herrera to full-time designated hitter or 鈥 first base.
Of course, Herrera would have to learn first base. What better season to do that? Though the Cardinals could go with Alec Burleson there (the outfielder started 13 games at first) or just let slugger Luken Baker take a season鈥檚 worth of hacks.
In many ways, this is fascinating. So many interesting options! But then, reality sinks in and it鈥檚 all so deflating. The Cardinals aren鈥檛 building the best roster possible for 2025. They鈥檙e going young and going to probably trade key bats and arms.
But moving Herrera to a different spot should make for better catching, overall. Pages (no relation to the Dodgers鈥 Andy) rated well in numerous Baseball Savant categories 鈥 and Pages earned the respect and praise of many pitchers and manager Oliver Marmol. In addition, the Cardinals鈥 offensive minor league player of the year was a catcher 鈥 Jimmy Crooks hit .321 for Class AA Springfield. And per the Cards, he is just the fifth Cardinals minor leaguer since 2012 to slash greater than .320/.400/.495 (with a minimum 300 plate appearances). Oh, and he hits left-handed.
And catcher Leonardo Bernal, just 20 last year, played in Peoria and hit .270 for the Class A club. The switch-hitter also tallied a .762 OPS before getting promoted to Springfield. In 49 at-bats there, he hit .204. He鈥檚 currently extending his season by playing in the Arizona Fall League.
So, yeah, having Herrera out of the way would open opportunities for other promising catchers.
But all of this stems from first having Contreras out of the way.
The former All-Star will turn 33 in May, so you鈥檇 think he has some good years left in him. He鈥檚 set to make $18 million in each of the next three seasons. Whether he plays catcher or designated hitter, his bat will make a baseball team better.
In the coming couple months, we鈥檒l learn more specifics about the Cardinals鈥 plan of action. Will they trade, if you will, everyone? Ryan Helsley, Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas (if someone would actually take Mikolas)?
But one guy to trade for sure is Contreras, whose vacancy would lower payroll and let a kid (or two) play.