Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Launches long ball in loss
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Contreras went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Monday's loss to Atlanta.
Contreras tried to bring St. Louis back with a two-run shot off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth inning that brought his team within a run, but the comeback attempt ultimately fell short. The long ball was only the second of 2025 for Contreras, who belted 15 homers in just 358 plate appearances last season. The catcher-turned-first-baseman is slashing a paltry .182/.234/.295 on the campaign, but he's been bringing that mark up of late, going 6-for-16 over his past four games.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Goes deep Sunday
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Contreras went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double and two runs scored in Sunday's win over the Phillies.
Contreras opened up the scoring in the fourth with a two-run blast to left for his first home run of the year. He also matched his extra-base hit season total with two Sunday. Contreras is off to a very slow start with his bat but now has four hits and three RBI in his last two games. For the year, he's hitting .158/.213/.263 with six RBI, six runs and a 2:22 BB:K in 62 plate appearances.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Not in St. Louis lineup
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Contreras is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Phillies.
It's a day off for the slumping Contreras, who is just 5-for-49 with 22 strikeouts in the early going. Alec Burleson is at first base for the Cardinals, and Jordan Walker has moved up to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Could be moved down in lineup
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol is weighing the possibility of moving the slumping Contreras down in the batting order, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Contreras has gotten off to a dreadful start this season, going 5-for-49 with 22 strikeouts, and he's done so while mostly batting second for St. Louis. The 32-year-old is a good bet to eventually get going offensively, but it's possible he'll be moved to a lower profile spot in the batting order while he's scuffling. If Marmol wants to continue alternating his lefty and righty hitters, Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn would appear to be the most likely candidates to be elevated to the No. 2 spot, if Contreras is indeed dropped lower in the lineup.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Will not move back to catcher
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that Contreras is not a candidate to move back to catcher in the wake of the Ivan Herrera (knee) injury, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Contreras will be available as an emergency third catcher, but he is set to remain the team's primary first baseman. Pedro Pages will receive the bulk of the reps at catcher for St. Louis while Herrera is out, and Yohel Pozo has been called up to serve as Pages' understudy.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: First day off Tuesday
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Contreras is absent from the lineup in Tuesday's game versus the Angels.
Contreras is still looking for his first hit of the season, having gone 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts in the Cardinals' first four games. Alec Burleson will cover first base and Nolan Gorman will be the DH on Tuesday while Contreras regroups.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Blistering ball this spring
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Contreras reached base in all three of his plate appearances Wednesday versus the Nationals and is now slashing .412/.512/.588 during Grapefruit League play.
Contreras has drawn positive reviews for his defense at first base, and if this spring is any indication, a move off catcher could unlock more offense for the 32-year-old. He's expected to see most of his action at first base in 2025 but will also be used some at designated hitter, as he was Wednesday.
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Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Bulks up over winter
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Contreras (finger) said recently that he added 10-to-12 pounds of muscle over the offseason, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Contreras is moving from catcher to first base this season and is less concerned about flexibility, freeing him up to add some bulk over the winter. The 32-year-old didn't play after Aug. 24 last season due to a fractured right middle finger, but he didn't require surgery and appears to be fully healthy for spring training, as Contreras said that "the ball is jumping a lot better than last year" during his hitting early on in camp. Contreras will remain eligible at catcher in fantasy leagues in 2025, and the move to first base should allow him to play more often and hopefully have a better chance of staying healthy, making him an intriguing selection in draft rooms.
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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.
