St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera has been on the injured list since April 7 but appears to be nearing a return to the big league roster.

Herrera initially hurt his left knee while running the bases and, in a worrisome scene, had to be helped off the field. The organization and fans were collectively holding their breath while awaiting imaging results. Thankfully, the tests came back clean and it was now a waiting game for when the Cardinals would return their best hitter to the lineup.

At the time of his injury, Herrera was one of the hottest hitters in the league, slashing .381/.458/1.048 with five home runs, including a three-homer game. After the positive test results, the young catcher was expected to be sidelined a minimum of four weeks. He is currently right on schedule with that initial timeline as he is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

John Denton said that Herrera passed all running and agility drills before heading to the minors and is expected to serve as the designated hitter before getting back behind the plate. Upon his return to the lineup, it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals work to get him involved. Pedro Pages has performed well both offensively and defensively since being moved into a starting role.

With Herrera’s inability to control the running game and the Cardinals getting next to nothing from their DH spot, manager Oli Marmol could opt to ease Herrera back into everyday work as the DH and keep Pages behind the plate. That does create some concern if Pages were to get injured in a game, but that might be a bridge the Cardinals are willing to wait to cross until that situation arises.

If all goes well this weekend, Herrera could expect to be back with the big league team at the beginning of their next series.