While the 2026 Major League Baseball season hasn't even come to a close yet, the St. Louis Cardinals already have shared some intriguing information about their plans beyond the campaign.
With the Cardinals out of contention for a playoff spot , the conversation around the team has certainly started to shift to ways they can improve ahead of the 2027 season. We made the case already to completely overhaul the bullpen, add a veteran starter and then potentially add a third baseman if St. Louis doesn't think either Thomas Saggese or Blaze Jordan could be the guy in 2027.
Center field and catcher were two positions with question marks heading into the 2026 season, but the Cardinals have found two answers. Or, at least two favorites heading into the 2027 season in Nathan Church and Leo Bernal, according to Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and shared on X by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.
Sep 18, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church (27) catches a fly ball from Washington Nationals designated hitter James Wood (29) during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"What has been clear through playing time for a while was also made clear through word of the manager this afternoon: Leo Bernal and Nathan Church will enter the winter as the incumbent, priority starters at catcher and in center. Third base? 'Wide open,' Marmol said," Jones wrote on X.
This is the right call for both positions.
Bernal has gotten a lot of love recently, and all of it has been justified . He has been phenomenal behind the plate defensively and has made an instant impact offensively. The 22-year-old is slashing .311/.354/.514 with an .868 OPS, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 18 games. It is well-known how good defensively Bernal is. In 2025, he won a MiLB Gold Glove Award and has already shown in the majors that his glove translates. Offensively, he has already shown he can be better than Pedro Pags and Jimmy Crooks, despite playing in just 18 games.
If Bernal stays healthy, he should absolutely be the Opening Day catcher to kick off the 2027 season.
On the Church front, he has been quietly solid for St. Louis this season. He has played in 136 games and is slashing .252/.297/.373 with a .670 OPS, 10 homers, 50 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, 16 doubles and 53 runs scored. Church has 2.1 wins above replacement and he's in the 80th percentile in outs above average as a rookie. It's hard to ask for much more from a guy.
With the 2026 season approaching, Victor Scott II was the incumbent in center field, but Church has simply outplayed him.
Despite the fact that the Cardinals aren't going to be in the playoffs , they are more set at the vast majority of positions on the diamond than you'd expect for a team that hasn't been in the postseason since 2022. Center field and catcher seem to be set. There really aren't a lot of glaring holes for St. Louis. If it can sort out the bullpen, third base and add a veteran pitcher, this team can make the playoffs next season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/cardinals/onsi as Cardinals' 2027 Outlook Gets Clearer for Leo Bernal, Nathan Church .
