Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Moving to first base
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Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Contreras will be a full-time first baseman and designated hitter next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Mozeliak added that it's unlikely Contreras will do any catching at all in 2025, with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages set to split duties behind the plate. Contreras has played 11 games at first base in his career, with his last start there coming in 2019. Contreras has slashed a robust .263/.367/.468 with 35 home runs over 209 games in his two seasons in St. Louis, but he's had trouble staying healthy and his defense at catcher has often drawn criticism. The move enhances Contreras' fantasy outlook for 2025 since he should be in the lineup more often, and it also bumps up the playing time projection for Herrera and Pages.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Ruled out for rest of season
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Contreras has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season after having his fractured right middle finger evaluated Monday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Contreras still needs two more weeks of rest before beginning baseball activities, so he will run out of time. On the bright side, he should be healed up in time to have a relatively normal offseason. Contreras will finish the 2024 season having been limited to just 84 games due to injury, although he was productive when on the field with an .848 OPS and 15 home runs. Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera will continue to share catching duties for the Cardinals in the final two weeks.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Will be re-evaluated Monday
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Contreras (finger) will be re-evaluated Monday as the Cardinals plan out his potential return, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Contreras had the splint on his fractured right middle finger removed a week ago and should be cleared to increase activities Monday. There's not much time for him to ramp things back up, but Contreras could make it back for the final week or so of the season if all goes well.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Avoiding surgery
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Contreras won't require surgery on his fractured right middle finger, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Contreras will be considered no impact for the next three weeks, but if all goes well, he'll be cleared to start a progression at that time. It's unclear how long he would need to ramp back up, but he'd need to do so quickly to have a chance to return for the final week or two of the regular season.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Placed on injured list
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The Cardinals placed Contreras (finger) on the 10-day injured list Sunday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
The 32-year-old fractured the middle finger on his right hand when he was hit by a pitch Saturday against the Twins, so his move to the injured list was to be expected. It's unclear how long Contreras is expected to be sidelined, but he's likely to be out beyond the 10-day minumum.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Heading to IL with finger fracture
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Contreras fractured the middle finger on his right hand during Saturday's game against the Twins and will be placed on the injured list, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Contreras was hit in the hand by a pitch in the fourth inning of Saturday's game and was replaced at DH the next time through the order. After undergoing testing, the catcher was diagnosed with a fractured finger and will require a stint on the IL. While he's sidelined, Pedro Pages should see plenty of work behind the dish and Ivan Herrera will likely be recalled from Triple-A Memphis to back Pages up.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Three hits, steal in win
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Contreras went 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and one run scored in Friday's 6-1 win over the Twins.
The theft was Contreras' fifth of the year, putting him one shy of matching his career high. The catcher has hit well lately, batting .319 (15-for-47) with five extra-base hits over his last 12 contests. He's up to a .263/.379/.470 slash line with 15 homers, 36 RBI, 48 runs scored and 17 doubles across 83 games this season. He continues to be quietly consistent while playing nearly every day between catcher and designated hitter.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Goes yard twice in win
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Contreras went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, two home runs and four RBI in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals.
The veteran backstop bookended a big day for the Cardinals' offense by launching a two-run homer off Michael Lorenzen in the first inning and a solo shot off Angel Zerpa in the ninth. With the performance, Contreras snapped an 11-game homer drought, a stretch in which he hit just .146 (6-for-41) with one RBI. On the season, he has 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 34 RBI in 72 contests, and Contreras' .875 OPS would be his highest mark since 2019.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Belts 13th homer
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Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Nationals.
Contreras opened the scoring with his first-inning blast off Washington starter DJ Herz. This was Contreras' second game in a row with a homer, and he's gone deep three times over nine contests since the All-Star break. The steady catcher is up to 13 long balls, 29 RBI, 37 runs scored and three stolen bases while slashing .274/.394/.519 through 60 games this season.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Lifts homer in loss
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Contreras went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Saturday's 14-3 loss to the Nationals.
Contreras got the Cardinals on the board in the sixth inning, but his homer only cut the deficit to 9-2. The catcher has gone 9-for-31 (.290) over eight games since the All-Star break. For the year, he's up to a .274/.396/.510 slash line with 12 homers, 28 RBI, 36 runs scored, three stolen bases and 13 doubles over 59 contests.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Smacks homer in Sunday's win
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Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-2 win over Atlanta.
Contreras also struck out three times, his first game with multiple strikeouts since July 10. The catcher is hitting .317 (19-for-60) with five homers and 13 RBI over 16 contests this month. For the season, he's up to 11 long balls, 26 RBI, 33 runs scored, 13 doubles, three stolen bases and a .279/.402/.521 slash line across 229 plate appearances. While his strikeout rate is 27.1 percent -- the second-highest mark of his career -- he's offset it with a personal-best 14.8 percent walk rate.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Four hits in doubleheader
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Contreras went 4-for-9 with one RBI and one run scored across both games of Saturday's doubleheader versus Atlanta.
Contreras notched his fourth multi-hit effort over 15 games in July with a three-hit game in the nightcap. The catcher looks like he hasn't missed a beat since returning from a broken forearm in late June, batting .278 with four homers and 13 RBI over 22 contests following a six-week absence. He's up to a .280/.404/.511 slash line with 10 homers, 25 RBI, 32 runs scored, 13 doubles and three stolen bases through 53 games this season. Manager Oliver Marmol has committed to keeping Contreras in the lineup, so he should start at either catcher or designated hitter on a near-everyday basis.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Getting Sunday off
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Contreras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
Contreras will get a breather after he played in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader, starting at designated hitter in the first game and at catcher in the second game while going a combined 3-for-6 with a home run, three walks, three runs and two RBI. Pedro Pages will step in behind the plate for the resting Contreras.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Blasts home run, swipes bag
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Contreras went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, three RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Nationals.
Contreras had a monster game against the Nationals, contributing in all facets offensively and extending his hitting streak to six games in Sunday's win. He clubbed his ninth home run of the season and his third in his last six games. The veteran had his first three RBI game of the season and picked up his third stolen base in the process. He's been playing well since returning from the IL and is hitting .299/.399/.529 for the campaign.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Homer, two RBI in win
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Contreras went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in a 7-6 win over the Nationals on Friday.
Contreras hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth. The catcher went just 4-for-23 in June after returning from the injured list but has five hits and two home runs in his past four games. On the season, he is hitting .265 with eight home runs, 17 RBI and 25 runs scored over 178 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Swats first homer since return
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Contreras went 1-for-3 with two walks and a two-run home run in Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Pirates.
The 32-year-old catcher tied the game at 3-3 in the eighth inning by taking Colin Holderman deep. It was Contreras' seventh homer of the year but his first in nine games since returning from a fractured forearm, a stretch in which he's batting just .200 (6-for-30). He does have extra-base hits in back-to-back contests after ripping a double Tuesday, however, so he's showing signs of regaining his form at the plate. On the campaign, Contreras is slashing .263/.395/.504 through 40 games.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Returns from injured list
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The Cardinals activated Contreras (forearm) from the 10-day injured list Monday. He'll start at catcher and bat third in the Cardinals' series opener versus Atlanta.
Contreras was initially expected to miss around 10 weeks after he suffered a fractured left forearm in early May, but he'll make it back from the IL in just six and a half weeks. The Cardinals could manage Contreras' workload carefully as he settles back in with the big club, but fantasy managers should feel free to activate ahead of this week's action. Contreras posted a .950 OPS with six home runs over 31 games before getting injured.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Expected back Monday
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Contreras (forearm) is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Monday's game versus Atlanta, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Contreras has played six rehab games with Triple-A Memphis, catching three games and serving as the designated hitter in three others. He's gone just 3-for-21 at the plate in those contests, but the Cardinals are more concerned with how he's feeling and reports on that are favorable. Contreras was initially supposed to be out until around the All-Star break when he fractured his left forearm in early May but will beat that timetable by a few weeks.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Could be activated June 24
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Contreras (forearm) could be activated from the 10-day injured list as soon as next Monday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Contreras will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday and might require less than a week of rehab games before rejoining the Cardinals lineup. Woo cautions that the catcher's timeline for rejoining the big club remains tentative, and a firmer return date may not come into focus until Contreras gets a few rehab games under his belt.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that Contreras (forearm) is likely to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with either Triple-A Memphis or Double-A Springfield, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Contreras reached a meaningful milestone in his recovery from surgery to repair a fractured left forearm by taking batting practice earlier in the weekend, and with the veteran backstop apparently coming out of the workout without any renewed soreness, he looks like he's ready for game action. Because he's been on the shelf since May 8, Contreras could stay on his minor-league rehab assignment throughout the week before potentially returning from the 10-day injured list before the end of June. Once Contreras is activated, he should reclaim the No. 1 catcher's role from Ivan Herrera.
