New Headline: Kyle Gibsson Witnesses Ivan Herrera Soars into Top Tier of Baseball!

The St. Louis Cardinals' upcoming season might not yield results in terms of wins and losses. However, the team will likely get a much better idea at which players will be the foundation of this new era of Cardinals baseball in 2026.

The regular season is yet to start but there's a good chance that catcher/designated hitter Ivan Herrera is one of those players. The 2016 international signee played a single-season career-high 107 games last season but spent most of it out of the field. Herrera played 14 games at catcher, four at left field and 89 at designated hitter due to a series of lingering injuries including left knee inflammation and a left hamstring strain.

In Herrera's absence, Pedro Pages took over as the team's primary catcher but the injuries have persisted for the former. Herrera underwent offseason surgery to clear out bone spurs in his right elbow and has been limited to just three Grapefruit League games this season due to recovery from that operation and a recent case of right knee inflammation this spring . Even through the injuries, Herrera has been one of the team's most effective hitters.

He's slashed . 284/. 373/.