Iván Herrera

Iván Aaron Herrera

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 220 lb.

• Debut May 24, 2022

• Born June 1, 2000 in Ciudad de Panamá Panama

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Biographical Information

Catcher Ivan Herrera reached the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2022 season as one of many men to serve as an understudy to the great Yadier Molina. He only appeared in 11 games in what was Molina's final season, going 2 for 18. In 2023, with Willson Contreras having been signed to be the primary backstop, he again played a few games for the big league team, hitting .297 in 13 games. He also was the Cardinals' minor league hitter of the year that season. Andrew Knizner was the primary back-up that season, however, he moved to the Texas Rangers after the season, leaving Iván as the main back-up to Contreras.

On April 4, 2024, Herrera got the chance to start for the Cardinals in their home opener against the Miami Marlins, as Contreras was sidelined with a minor injury. He had been inserted into the line-up so late that he just took over Contreras' spot as the clean-up hitter, as Oliver Marmol did not want to shuffle his other players around with so little advance notice. He took advantage of this opportunity to hit his first career home run in the 2nd inning off Ryan Weathers, a massive 414-foot blast to left field, and he added a run-scoring single during a five-run 7th inning rally, ending up as the hero of St. Louis, 7-5 win. There had been little doubt about his ability as a hitter coming up through the ranks, but there were some questions about his defensive work, and Molina had worked extensively with him after his retirement to ensure he would be ready to play in the big leagues when the call came. He played 72 games that season, hitting .301 with 5 homers and 27 RBIs for an OPS+ of 124. This caused a problem for the Cardinals, as their two best hitters were now catchers, and obviously could not both start at the same time. The problem sorted itself out when 1B Paul Goldschmidt left as a free agent following the season, and the Cards decided to move Contreras there full time, leaving the catching job for Iván. This was in spite of the fact that his throwing still left a lot to be desired, as he had nabbed just 4 of the 59 runners who had attempted to steal against him.

With the line-up shuffle, Herrera was the starting catcher for the Cardinals on March 27th, Opening Day of the 2025 season, against the Minnesota Twins. He went 2 for 3 with a double in a 5-3 win, then got another two hits in his team's second game two days later. On April 2nd, he became the first major league hitter not named Aaron Judge to have a three-homer game that season, connecting three times in a 12-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels. He was the first catcher in the 144-year history of the team to have a three-homer game; he also drove in six runs, obliterating his previous career high of three. he homered again the next day to come to within one of his previous year's total, but on April 6th he had to leave the first game of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox after injuring his knee in the 2nd inning. He was placed on the injured list the next day as the Cardinals called up minor league veteran Yohel Pozo to share catching duties with back-up Pedro Pages during his absence.

Further Reading

• John Denton: "Ready for 'The Show': Herrera hammers 1st career HR: Cardinals prospect thrives in home opener after becoming late lineup addition", mlb.com, April 4, 2024. [1]
• John Denton: "Herrera's historic hat trick shows peak of potential for Cards: Backstop becomes 1st catcher in 144-year history of Cardinals to hit three homers in a game", mlb.com, April 2, 2025. [2]

Related Sites

• Ivan Herrera on mlb.com