CINCINNATI -- When emerging slugger Iván Herrera was forced from the lineup on April 6 with a left knee bone bruise he sustained while running the bases, he was the Cardinals’ team leader in home runs with four.
The fact that Herrera is still atop the Cardinals' home run leaderboard -- he was tied with Lars Nootbaar entering play Wednesday -- some 3 1/2 weeks later speaks to how much St. Louis has missed his prodigious power in its lineup.
The Cardinals got good news on Wednesday when the 24-year-old catcher was cleared to begin his Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis, manager Oliver Marmol said. Herrera, who passed all his running and agility tests in St. Louis on Tuesday, was scheduled to travel to Memphis on Wednesday and go through pregame drills with the Redbirds. Herrera will then be at designated hitter on Thursday and catch five innings on Friday when Memphis hosts Louisville.
The Cardinals moved catcher Willson Contreras to first base in the offseason to clear up playing time for Herrera, who lived up to that confidence by slashing .381/.458/1.048 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in seven games. Herrera set a bit of history on April 2 when he became the first catcher in the rich history of the Cards to homer three times in a game.
However, Herrera’s momentum was stalled on April 6 when he twisted his left knee while running from first to third on a base hit. He stayed in the game for two more pitches but collapsed when his knee “gave way,” and he needed help from Cardinals coaches to get from third base to the third-base dugout.
Pedro Pagés, who was splitting time with Herrera before the knee injury, has handled most of the catching duties with Herrera out. Pagés recently remained in the starting lineup four consecutive days because of his abilities to control the opposition’s running game. He’s thrown out five of 16 basestealers (31.2%), but he was out of the lineup for Wednesday’s Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Reds. Yohel Pozo, who was promoted from Triple-A Memphis to replace Herrera, went 2-for-4 in St. Louis' 6-0 win over Cincinnati in Game 1.