St. Louis Cardinals Archive | St. Louis Cardinals, LLC/GettyImages

In sports (and life), sometimes doing less is more. Staying the course instead of working diligently to add more or compensate for your losses/shortcomings can yield better results. TheSt. Louis Cardinals are experiencing this first-hand early in the 2025 MLB campaign, thanks to the continued ascension of catcher Iván Herrera.

Herrera has been outstanding to begin this season, posting a .400/.455/1.100 slash line with four home runs and 11 RBIs. Moreover, his otherworldly 1.555 OPS is more than twice the league-average rate of .692. We’re watching the 24-year-old breakout in real-time, reaching heights no backstop in Cardinals history ever has.

However, an alternate universe in which Herrera’s an afterthought in St. Louis (for at least this season) exists. If not for Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak’s allowing the club’s former franchise centerpiece to hit the open market, Paul Goldschmidt, that would be a reality.

John Mozeliak deserves praise for letting Paul Goldschmidt walk after Iván Herrera’s blistering start to the 2025 season

Fans weren’t happy when it was reported that Goldschmidt wouldn’t return to the Cardinals this past offseason. The move didn’t sit well with the St. Louis faithful, and reasonably so. After all, he was the National League’s MVP in 2022 and enjoyed a stellar stint with the club.

But if Goldschmidt remained on the Cardinals’ roster, Herrera wouldn’t be afforded the opportunities he’s more than taken advantage of. St. Louis moved standout slugger Willson Contreras to first base, which has allowed the latter to slot in behind the plate. So, in retrospect, Mozeliak’s activity (or lack thereof) is paying dividends.

If you think about it, Goldschmidt leaving the Cards to join the New York Yankees was addition by subtraction for St. Louis. While he’s faring well in the Bronx on the team that’s favored to win the American League pennant, his departure has unlocked Herrera. Mozeliak deserves props for trusting the young, homegrown talent over a beloved player on the back nine of a spectacular career.