As rookie Ivan Herrera progressed through his rehab assignment with Class AAA Memphis and a roster decision on how the Cardinals could proceed at the catching position neared, fellow rookie Pedro Pages did not focus on what could happen that was out of his control. Rather, he looked at what he could do to contribute in any form or fashion.
“I didn’t know what it was going to be. I didn’t know what they were going to do. Obviously, I just worried about showing up to the field every day and being ready to go,†Pages said.
Friday provided some clarity.
Ahead of Friday’s series opener between the Cardinals and Cubs, the Cardinals activated Herrera (lower back) from the 10-day injured list and optioned the 24-year-old rookie to Class AAA Memphis. The option was Herrera’s last. The move positions the 25-year-old Pages to serve as Willson Contreras’s backup as the former feels he’s beginning to find his footing at the major league level.
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“100%, it gives me confidence. It gives me more ... tranquility, I guess, but I don’t want to get complacent with it,†Pages said when asked about remaining in the majors. “I just want to keep working hard. Just show up every day, work hard, and keep my head down and keep grinding and just find any way I can to help this team win.â€
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said carrying three catchers limited his club’s lineup “flexibility.â€
“When you look at how we’re structured at the moment, it’s hard to carry three catchers,†Marmol said.
With two catchers on the current 26-man roster in Contreras and Pages, the Cardinals could utilize the left-handed hitting Alec Burleson at designated hitter against right-handed pitchers and have Contreras behind the plate. Against lefties, Marmol’s lineup could include Contreras at DH and Pages behind the plate.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals will look for Herrera to continue finding success at the plate while strengthening his throwing arm in order to limit base stealers, which had troubled him while in the majors.
At the plate, Pages has batted .207 with two home runs, 11 RBIs, and a .601 OPS in 31 major league games since his debut April 7. Both of the rookie’s home runs have come in his last 20 games, a stretch during which he’s batted .258. Seven of his last 16 hits in his last 20 games entering Friday came after he ditched his bright yellow batting gloves for a no-batting gloves approach.
“It was something I went through last year in Double-A,†Pages said of the switch. “I started off good, went through a little struggle for like two weeks or something like that, and I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to change something up.’ Change the batting gloves. Take them off. Whatever, no batting gloves (and) started hitting again. That’s something I brought up this year. I was like, ‘You know what, I haven’t been swinging it too well. Let’s just take them and just go hit.’ And it ended up working out. I’m just going to keep riding this wave and see how long it lasts.â€
Behind the plate, Pages began Friday ranked in the 70th percentile in framing and has a plus-one in catcher framing runs, per Statcast. He’s helped navigate ºüÀêÊÓƵ’s pitching staff to a combined 3.59 ERA in games he is catching.
“He’s done an incredible (job),†Marmol said of Pages. “You look at just his ability to call a game, work with the pitchers, understand what they do well, understand the opposition, and how to mix and match. And just the second layer of that, when you have some starters that have a lot of different ways of attacking hitters based on their arsenal, right? With (Kyle Gibson) specifically — and Sonny is very specific — his ability to do that well, he’s shown that time and time again. He’s earned the chance to stay here and be the backup to Willson.â€
Edman, O’Brien, etc.
Tommy Edman continued his rehab assignment Thursday with Springfield and was expected to play again Friday for the Cardinals’ Class AA club. Edman, who is rehabbing from offseason right wrist surgery, played five innings as Springfield’s designated hitter on Tuesday, marking his first official game action of 2024, and was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with “general soreness.†The former Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman played seven innings and went one-for-three with a walk as the S-Cards’ designated hitter on Thursday night. ... Riley O’Brien is slated to throw a session of live batting practice on Saturday in Springfield. O’Brien is expected to throw around 20-to-25 pitches. The live batting practice will be O’Brien’s third in his recovery from a right forearm flexor strain that has kept him on the injured list since late March. ... Lance Lynn is listed as the Cardinals’ probable starter for the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Cubs. Kyle Gibson is the Cardinals’ probable starter for the second game. ... Former Cardinals pitcher and East Carolina University product Seth Maness threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday’s game. Maness’s first pitch was to Alec Burleson — another East Carolina University alum. Maness requested to throw to Burleson after previously expressing praise that Burleson is one of ECU baseball’s best products.