Did the Cardinals get what they need in Willson Contreras?

They got the best catcher on the market, but is that good enough?

Sometimes you get what you want, but most times you get what you need. For the St. Louis Cardinals, that was the dream of a shortstop followed by the necessity for a catcher.

While Trea Turner and Carlos Correa would have looked nice in Cardinal Red, the roster does show a few guys who can play that position. Once the team was eliminated from the SS High Stakes Derby after Philly acquired Turner, it was check down to Dansby Swanson “Ok” Town, or lean into the catcher position.

Out of all the free agent options, Wllson Contreras was the most complete. However, Sean Murphy showed the most overall promise behind the plate and standing next to it throughout the MLB Trade grapevine. Oakland may have asked for too much, or the Cards were never truly in on the possible acquisition.

Contreras was the move, as the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported the team signing the former Chicago Cub for five years at $87.5 million. The AAV (average annual value) of $17.5 million doesn’t bite as much as the term of half a decade. 2021 represented Contreras’s highest WAR output at 3.3 wins above replacement. That’s with understanding the sabermetrics’ continuing trek towards properly assessing value for the position.

Contreras is not a remarkable catcher. He’s okay with the chance of being better on occasion. This was a move for the lineup, and that’s the initiative that I like to see. Since his debut in 2016, he has been one of the best offensive catchers in the league according to Bleacher Report.

A lifetime OPS of .808 and OPS+ of 115 is why I like this deal enough to swallow the term. Contreras’s OPS of .773 away from Wrigley Field is encouraging, if not completely exciting. Busch Stadium is known to eat up hitters who shred elsewhere. And this whole deal is built on his bat, not his glove.

Contreras isn’t an All Star without the bat. They didn’t check his gear bag for a catcher’s mask at the three Midsummer Classics he played in.

If his bat does play, then the Cards lineup just improved. He adds pop to a much-needed position that has been shrouded in defense-first needs for nearly two decades. Contreras is the other end of the spectrum of Yadier Molina, who enjoyed flourishes of power over his career, but declined as he sailed into his 30s.

The Cardinals are trading defense for offense here, and that fills a need. The lingering question will be if Contreras is enough to support this cold-in-October offense, because it has to balance out the defensive sharpness lost from the retirement of Yadi.

No reason to hate the deal. Mild skepticism is more like it. Have a good day, folks. This was written on my lunch break while sick and working from home, so I am signing off.