Cardinals Taking Trio Of Prospects To London Series To Bolster Depth Vs. Cubs

The St. Louis Cardinals are preparing for unexpected roster movements in their upcoming overseas travel against the Chicago Cubs this weekend with a taxi squad.

"Cardinals taxi squad for the trip overseas to London will be catcher Ivan Herrera, left-handed pitcher JoJo Romero and right-handed pitcher James Naile," St. Louis Today's Lynn Worthy tweeted Wednesday.

Ivan Herrera is a young 23-year-old stud from Panama who was signed by the Cardinals as an international free agent back in 2016. Herrera has been working his way up through the farm system and has only seen 18 at-bats in the big leagues. The young catcher currently plays for Triple-A Memphis.

Herrera is hitting .291 with 27 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 37 RBI's and an impressive .960 OPS this season.

Romero hasn't had the most impressive stat sheet since being drafted by the Philadephia Phillies back in 2016 and then being traded to the Cardinals in 2022. Romero's time with the Cardinals farm system is showing promising signs of improvement, however.

The southpaw currently has a 2-1 record with a 2.25 ERA, 32-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .240 batting average against, and a 1.30 WHIP in 20 innings pitched this season for Memphis.

Naile received his first call to the big leagues by St. Louis last season, however, his poor performance led him back to the farm system. Naile was first drafted by the Oakland Athletics back in 2015 and has since shown a steady track record with St. Louis affiliates. 

The 30-year-old currently has a 4-1 record with a 2.87 ERA, 42-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .228 batting average against, and a 1.14 WHIP in 37 1/3 innings pitched this season for Memphis.

The Cardinals were wise to bring in some experienced minor leaguers to be used as potential fill-ins against the Cubs. It also tells the fanbase which players are on St. Louis' radar heading into the stretch run.