PITTSBURGH — The left knee injury that forced Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera to an early exit from Game 1 of a Sunday doubleheader against the Red Sox in Boston will sideline him a “minimum” four weeks. Additional testing done Monday in ѿý revealed he had suffered a bone bruise.
“Obviously we were hoping for something a little bit shorter, but we’ll be patient. And hopefully it’s closer to four weeks, but we’ll have to wait and see how he responds,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Monday from PNC Park.
The injury comes at a time when Herrera, 24, was batting .381 with four home runs, 11 RBIs and a 1.048 on-base plus slugging percentage in seven games after beginning the season as the Cardinals’ opening day catcher. Heading into Monday, Herrera led his club in homers and RBIs.
“He (Herrera) was putting together a really good year, and he was making improvements on the preparation side of game calling and receiving and blocking,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He’s continuing to work on the throwing, but he was putting together a really good offensive year, and you hate to see it. But at the same time, I’m kind of glad it’s not that he’s missing the whole year, because that’s what it looked like initially.”
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Herrera suffered the injury while running the bases in the third inning of Game 1. He needed to be helped off the field by Marmol and team trainer Adam Olsen.
“I will say the way we carried him off the field, I thought it was the whole season,” Marmol said.
Herrera’s injury led him to be placed on the 10-day injured list Monday before his club opened a three-game series against the Pirates at PNC Park. The ailment positions Pedro Pages as the Cardinals’ primary catcher.
While Herrera is expected to be sidelined at least four weeks, Mozeliak said he doesn’t expect his club to dip into the free-agent market to add a catcher.
The Cardinals opened the season with Herrera and Pages as the only catchers on their 40-man roster following Willson Contreras’ switch to first base. Their closest catching prospect to reaching the majors, Jimmy Crooks, is beginning his first full season in Class AAA.
To provide depth in the majors, the Cardinals added Yohel Pozo to their 40-man roster and promoted him from Class AAA Memphis. He joined the club Monday. Zack Thompson (left lat strain) was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Pozo.
Thompson has progressed to throwing to more than 100 feet from flat ground, Mozeliak said. The 27-year-old left-hander was shut down on March 2 and was prescribed four weeks without throwing after being sidelined because of a left lat strain. His progression is expected to be one similar to “a normal” spring training. Thompson’s transfer to the 60-day IL was backdated to the start of the regular season.
Pozo, 27, started at catcher and batted seventh Monday night. The start marked Pozo’s first game in the majors since Sept. 16, 2021, while he was with the Texas Rangers. Pozo, who signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals in January, was extended a non-roster invitation to big league spring training in the second week of March after beginning camp on the minor league side. He opened the minor league season with Memphis, for which he collected seven hits, including three doubles and two homers, in 21 at-bats.
“We’ll see what we have here,” Mozeliak said. “From a pretty short look in spring, though, we like what we saw out of him (Pozo). I prefer not to have to rush anybody else down below. I’d like to be patient with Crooks. But let’s just see how things work. With my job. You’re always sort of like, just in case. You never have enough insurance.”
Gorman goes to STL
Infielder Nolan Gorman returned to ѿý to continue rehabbing his right hamstring strain injury after traveling with his club to Boston for the first leg of their two-city trip, Mozeliak said.
“He was able to receive his daily treatments, but I think for him to really start progressing, getting him back in ѿý made sense,” Mozeliak said.
Mozeliak noted that the Cardinals should have a “pretty good idea” of Gorman’s readiness to come off the IL by Friday, when the club returns to Busch Stadium to open a six-game homestand. Gorman is eligible to come off the IL Friday.
Mozeliak said he would “encourage” Gorman, who produced four hits including a home run and a double in eight at-bats to begin the year, to go on a rehab assignment.
“The one thing he was doing, he was swinging the bat. We want to make sure that timing is right,” Mozeliak said.
Arenado scratched
Nolan Arenado was scratched from Monday’s series opener with “general soreness” and “illness.” Arenado was in line to start at third base and bat fourth. He was replaced at third base by Thomas Saggese, who batted sixth.
“He’s feeling it right now. Just kind of achy,” Marmol said of Arenado.
