Cardinals move Willson Contreras from catcher after $87.5 million contract
Five months into a five-year deal is not a good time to be questioning things.
But that seems to be what the Cardinals are doing regarding Willson Contreras, who is already being moved off the catcher position just a month into the season, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported Saturday.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confirmed Contreras will be used as a DH over the next few weeks, and it’s also possible he’ll play the outfield.
The Cardinals called up catcher Tres Barrera on Saturday, with Barrera and Andrew Knizner expected to split time behind the plate.
“It’s tough, but I’m an employee,” Contreras told reporters. “I know my primary position is catching, but if they want me to DH more, I can do nothing about it except by being the best hitter I can be.”
In December, Contreras signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Cardinals, but it’s taken just over a month’s worth of games to start questioning whether there’s buyer’s remorse at play.
Willson Contreras is moving from catcher to DH and possibly the outfield for the slow-starting Cardinals AP
Contreras is hitting .280/.361/.421 with two home runs, and has the best OPS on the team, but part of the reason for the deal on both sides was that he plays catcher — and has done so for essentially all of his career, with 35 appearances in the outfield.
“We’ve had a lot of conversation about it,” Marmol told reporters. “This allows for some familiarity behind the plate with our guys, which I think will help, especially in the state that we’re in.
“There are certain things and ways we operate that Willson is still talking to and learning. It’s a difficult thing coming from a different organization and learning all of it. We have an internal strategy to help with that, that will start moving in that direction over the next several weeks.”
Willson Contreras hands the ball to Steven Matz. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The Cards are off to an awful start to the season, with a 10-23 record going into Saturday that has them in last place in the NL Central.
“One thing I want to make super clear is that we are not losing ball games because of Willson Contreras,” Marmol said. “This is a guy that’s been in an amazing amount of work to be able to become more familiar with one, our pitchers, and also how we do things. He will DH a decent amount going forward, and then we have a strategy of what that looks like beyond that.”
Source: New York Post
