Cubs react to Willson Contreras being relieved of catching duties by Cardinals
Former Cub Willson Contreras has been relieved of his catching duties in St. Louis.
Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
How unsold were the Cubs on Willson Contreras’ defense as a catcher?
So much so, they relegated any notion of extending his contract to the pay-no-mind list during his last couple of years heading into free agency.
And yet the Cubs still sent Contreras out to catch in 72 of his 113 games played in 2022. And that came after a 2021 season when Contreras caught in 116 games, right behind the Dodgers’ Will Smith (117), the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto (118) and the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina (118) for the most in the National League.
Things got awkward between the Cubs and Contreras toward the end of his 14-year run in the organization, there’s no doubt. But what’s happening now between the three-time All-Star and his new team, the rival Cardinals — who signed him for five years and $87.5 million to succeed the great Yadier Molina — is a whole new level of cringe.
In a nutshell: After squatting behind home plate in all of 24 games for the Cardinals, Contreras has been unceremoniously relieved of his catching duties. For the foreseeable future, he’ll be a designated hitter and occasional outfielder.
If he’s hurt, embarrassed or ticked off by this development — and how could he not be? — he’ll just have to play through it beginning with his return to Wrigley Field for a series against the Cubs that starts Monday. The questions about his catching will follow him wherever he goes for a while, but especially in the World Series stomping grounds where he came of age as a big-leaguer.
“I’m sure it’s a hard thing to hear and a hard thing to swallow,” said first-year Cubs catcher Tucker Barnhart, a two-time Gold Glove winner. “It’s surprising for sure. It feels like it’s really early in the year, early in his tenure in St. Louis for them to make that decision.”
Barnhart called Contreras’ physical tools “off the charts,” called him a “damn good player” and added, “I respect the hell out of him.”
But the Cardinals — division favorites to start the season — were an NL-worst 10-24 entering Sunday, while pitchers had a 5.04 ERA throwing to Contreras, and team president John Mozeliak and manager Oli Marmol didn’t leave much doubt how they felt about that. They grabbed their star catcher’s gear, patted him on the head and told him, “That’ll be enough for now.”
Other Cubs were less inclined to discuss Contreras’ plight. Longtime teammate Ian Happ said it was “yet to be seen” what role Contreras will have long-term and speculated that it could involve a return to catching. Young catcher Miguel Amaya, a Contreras fan, clearly was uncomfortable with the subject.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Amaya said before going on to praise Contreras for looking out for him during previous springs.
Manager David Ross, a former catcher who didn’t always agree with Contreras’ methods in the position, pointed to the difficulty of replacing Molina, who held things down at a Hall of Fame level over nearly two decades.
“You’re not going to replace that person,” Ross said. “You’re going to have to find your own way. There are some guys who have been there a really long time working with Yadi. Going about things differently sometimes doesn’t go smoothly. … Change takes an adjustment period.”
Contreras barely made it five weeks into the season before losing his gig. That’s quite the adjustment he’ll have to make now. Tough business.