The St. Louis Cardinals appear to be gaining momentum, having won four consecutive series — including handing Paul Skenes his fourth career loss. The offense has started clicking, and the pitching staff has avoided major meltdowns, keeping the team within reach of a .500 record and in contention early in the NL Central. The lineup may soon receive another boost with catcher Iván Herrera nearing a return from a bone bruise that’s sidelined him for four weeks.
Herrera’s return, paired with Alec Burleson’s recent power resurgence, could put pressure on struggling hitters for playing time. Before his injury, Herrera was arguably the Cardinals’ best hitter, leading the team with four home runs and 12 RBIs, while boasting a staggering 1.506 OPS. He sustained the injury while running the bases, but the diagnosis—a bone bruise—was far from catastrophic, although it did require several weeks of recovery.
That recovery timeline has stayed on track, and Herrera has now completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis. He homered as a DH in his first game back and has caught three of five games, hitting .412 with four RBIs in that span. The bat looks ready, but questions remain about his defense—especially his ability to control the running game, an area where backup Pedro Pagés has excelled.
Pagés has held his own as the starting catcher, hitting .239 with a .389 slugging percentage, and has thrown out over half of attempted base stealers. Given Herrera’s pre-injury struggles in that area (0-for-7 throwing out runners), the logical move might seem to keep Pagés behind the plate and use Herrera as a full-time DH—particularly since the DH spot has been a weakness. However, Burleson’s recent surge may complicate that.
Burleson has a solid batting average and low strikeout rate, but the team had been waiting for his power to return. After a long power drought, he’s begun to heat up in May with two home runs and a game-winning double off Skenes. Burleson now leads all major leaguers in hits against Skenes and has raised his slugging and OPS significantly.
If Burleson maintains this form, it would be tough to remove him from the DH role. This likely shifts Herrera back into the starting catcher position, bumping Pagés to the bench alongside Luken Baker, Jose Barrero, and Nolan Gorman. Jordan Walker continues to struggle, but his outfield ability and potential keep him in the lineup for now.
Manager Oliver Marmol may try to balance health and performance by rotating Herrera between catching and DH, keeping Pagés involved behind the plate. This would require shifting Burleson to the outfield, which would create a cascade of positional changes—potentially moving Nootbaar to right and Walker to the bench. While depth is a strength, it only works if everyone is performing, and the current logjam could make it difficult for underperformers like Gorman, Baker, and Walker to find regular at-bats.