The St. Louis Cardinals' upcoming season might not yield results in terms of wins and losses. However, the team will likely get a much better idea at which players will be the foundation of this new era of Cardinals baseball in 2026.

The regular season is yet to start but there's a good chance that catcher/designated hitter Ivan Herrera is one of those players.

The 2016 international signee played a single-season career-high 107 games last season but spent most of it out of the field.

Herrera played 14 games at catcher, four at left field and 89 at designated hitter due to a series of lingering injuries including left knee inflammation and a left hamstring strain.

In Herrera's absence, Pedro Pages took over as the team's primary catcher but the injuries have persisted for the former.

Herrera underwent offseason surgery to clear out bone spurs in his right elbow and has been limited to just three Grapefruit League games this season due to recovery from that operation and a recent case of right knee inflammation this spring.

Even through the injuries, Herrera has been one of the team's most effective hitters. He's slashed .284/.373/.464 with an .837 OPS and hit 13 doubles and 19 home runs with 66 RBIs.

Herrera is still projected to break camp on the Opening Day roster as the team's designated hitter, according to FanGraphs but his recent injuries seems to cast doubt on the long-term outlook of him returning to the backstop. However, he still brings value to the team with his bat and has positional versatility

In a recent episode of the Cardinal Territory podcast, former St. Louis pitcher Kyle Gibson expanded on how Herrera can play an impact on the team beyond his ability to catch.

"I think, if anything, I'd be interested to see if he's taken any reps at first base this spring," Gibson said on the podcast. "There's not (necessarily) a right-handed first baseman to be there. (Ramon Urias) can play first base, he can play really about anywhere. So, if they want to give (Alec Burleson) a day, they can do that. Some of these decisions that I looked at, they kind of tie into each other here with what Herrera does. If we can put Herrera at first base, then that probably solves a little bit of that flexibility with (Burleson). If Herrera can play first base, then (Burleson) can maybe go and play left field for a day, play right field for a day to get (Jordan Walker) off his feet."

The Cardinals aren't unfamiliar with transitioning a catcher to first base. Willson Contreras, who played catcher for the better part of nine seasons, transitioned to first base last year and was successful in that regard. He was traded by St. Louis to the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 21.

If Herrera is able to make a successful position change, then the versatility that can offer the lineup in addition to his bat could make him one of the most important players on the team for the foreseeable future.

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