Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering about why the St. Louis Cardinals are relieving Willson Contreras of catching duties? We’re here to help.
We’re still just over a month into the 2023 MLB season, but it has been far from an ideal start for the St. Louis Cardinals. One season after St. Louis won 93 games and a National League Central title, the Cardinals are sitting at the bottom of the entire National League.
That has the whole organization looking for answers. After all, a team with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and winning pedigree should not be *this* bad. And for manager Oliver Marmol, newly acquired catcher Willson Contreras appears to be the problem.
Let’s break down what’s going on with the Cardinals.
Who is Willson Contreras?
Contreras is a three-time All-Star and former World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs. He joined the Cardinals this offseason, heading to his longtime division rivals on a five-year, $87.5 million contract. He was brought on to replace legendary catcher Yadier Molina who retired after last season.
So far with the Cardinals, he’s performing on par offensively with his career numbers. He’s batting .265 with a pair of home runs and .734 OPS. And despite MLB’s increased base sizes, he’s still throwing out about 30 percent of would-be base stealers (in line with his career average).
So, what's the problem?
Simply put, the Cardinals stink.
The Cardinals have among the worst team ERAs in the National League and have lost eight of their past 10 games. The vibes are bad, and it seems like the Cardinals aren’t particularly pleased with Contreras’ grasp of the strategic elements that go along with catching. Plus, the pitchers seem to be struggling with life after Molina.
Cardinals president John Mozeliak said via The Athletic:
“Obviously the Cardinals were used to one guy behind the plate for close to two decades. The nuances of that position, maybe very subtle, are what a lot of our pitchers were used to. What we were seeing was a lack of confidence. Normally, you would say, why didn’t you address this in spring training? But in spring training, it’s so different in terms of what people are trying to work on. Pitchers are going a couple of innings. It doesn’t really count.
“With this, we’ve noticed a lot of puzzling trends we know we need to fix. We know we need to address it. … We just decided to do it head on, put it out there. Do we think we’ve seen Willson catch his last game? No. But this is going to take a little time to get him to where we feel he understands the expectations of what this role is for us.”
Mozeliak also blamed the pitch clock for hurting the Cardinals staff’s ability to form chemistry with Contreras. But at the same time, every team has to deal with a pitch clock.
Wait. So they're not going to let him play catcher?
That appears to be the plan for now.
The Cardinals have decided that instead of having Contreras work through these issues with the pitchers, the best course forward would be to move him to designated hitter. This came after the Cardinals initially considered moving Contreras to outfield but thought better of it.
That’s the 21st home run allowed on two strikes with the Cardinals.
As we talk about pitch selection, game-calling, etc, let’s also remember: Execution matters too.
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) May 7, 2023
Essentially, they’re paying $87.5 million for a designated hitter with below-average power and a sub-.800 OPS. The Cardinals are seeing the success that Sean Murphy (a trade target they considered) is enjoying in Atlanta, and they’re openly showing buyer’s remorse with Contreras.
It’s a rough look all the way around.
How has Contreras taken the news?
To his credit, he’s handled the situation well — at least publicly.
“Like I said, I’m an employee and I know that my primary position is catcher. If they want me to DH more, I can do nothing about it but be the best hitter I can be.”
— Willson Contreras, #stlcards DH. https://t.co/qsBk0dYANt
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 7, 2023
He recognized that he has a responsibility to listen to his coaches and employers. In turn, he’ll focus on being a full-time DH if that’s what the Cardinals want.
He did remove his profile picture on Instagram, though.
It looks like Willson Contreras removed his photo of him in a Cardinal uniform from IG. Should the Cubs bring Contreras back to Chicago? pic.twitter.com/DjCsFNxz7H
— CubsHQ.com (@ChicagoCubsHQ) May 8, 2023
How are fans reacting to this saga?
There is definitely a sense of frustration from Cardinals fans. As a fanbase, they’re not used to losing. And many fans would rather blame Marmol than scapegoat Contreras.
I gotta say, the way Willson Contreras is handling the mess says a lot about his character and leadership.
The #STLCards , unfortunately, look worse and worse as this goes on https://t.co/cROGQJCGcb
— Joshua Jacobs (@joshjacoMLB) May 7, 2023
How would I describe the Cardinals ownership and front office?
-Dysfunctional and disconnected-
This Contreras situation has now become a National story and was totally avoidable.
I applaud Willson Contreras for his handling of this mess and his professionalism.
I never… pic.twitter.com/v1rdXuiJr4
— Augie Nash (@AugieNash) May 8, 2023
Get John Mozeliak & Oli Marmol away from my baseball team.
What a joke! https://t.co/RXHdDxVVjZ
— Ryan (@The_Ryan_Shull) May 7, 2023
Holy hell those quotes from Marmol and Mozeliak on Contreras before the game today. Just frickin’ brutal. To not really be doing anything wrong but have your bosses just absolutely shed you in the media (and worse try to frame it as if they’re not). OOF.
— Justin Striebel (@jstriebel22) May 8, 2023
Contreras did add that he also plans to work with the pitchers to get back to catching.
Among the many, many other things that came from Willson Contreras’s press availability today, he shared that he had a meeting with Marmol, Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty as part of the process to work him back into catching.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) May 8, 2023
It really can’t get much worse for St. Louis.
