With the winter meetings in full swing, if you’re a baseball fan, you’ve likely seen a plethora of trade and free agency rumors across the league.
This is the week for it. The vast majority of the top decision makers in the sport, along with agents, players, and media members alike are all together. When that happens, you start to see deals happen, along with an avalanche of rumors. But that’s not all. The winter meetings are an opportunity for executives, managers, and even players to speak to the media and share other information as well.
ActivewearSep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) celebrates a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
For example, MLB.com’s John Denton shared on X on Monday from manager Oliver Marmol that catcher/designated hitter Iván Herrera has been progressing in his recovery from offseason surgery and is just a “matter of weeks” from throwing.
“Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said C Iván Herrera (arthroscopic elbow surgery) is working on a curriculum designed by coaches and will begin throwing again in a matter of weeks,” Denton wrote on X.
When it comes to St. Louis, most of the noise around the organization has been about which players could be on the move and where they could go. Those are important talking points, but so too is Herrera’s health.
Herrera is one of a few players on the team that doesn’t seem even remotely likely to be traded, along with guys like Masyn Winn, JJ Wetherholt, and Michael McGreevy, among others. Herrera is just 25 years old and has shown that he can be a high-impact bat in the middle of the lineup for St. Louis, wherever the team plays him. In 2025, he slashed .284/.373/.464 with 19 homers and 66 RBIs in 107 games played. He also had an .837 OPS.
Herrera spent most of the season as a designated hitter, and even a bit of time in the outfield. That was because he dealt with injuries that took him out of catcher. That’s the reasoning for the surgery.
The fact that he will be throwing again shortly is great news for his availability for Spring Training. If he can show that he’s good to go, it will complicate the team’s catcher depth a bit, but help the team out in the long run. If the Cardinals can slot Herrera in at catcher, at least sometimes, that would open up the DH spot and give the team more flexibility with their lineup decisions. We’ll see what happens in Spring Training, but this is positive.
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