Why moving Willson Contreras to first base is a wise move by the Cardinals
Saving knees and protecting a strong bat locks in a much-needed personality for an uncertain few years.
The St. Louis Cardinals may not be in Major League territory just yet, even if Rachel Phelps could strip this current roster for parts and small exchanges in a weekend, but that doesn’t mean they will be a contender for a wildcard spot in 2025 or 2026. Still, they can still be watchable and a threatening presence if certain parts remain intact.
Willson Contreras is a vital cog in the rebuild of this team’s once prominent presence in the Major Leagues, and his on-field abilities aren’t the beginning and end of the reasoning. He’s a personality, a fiery blend of 100% effort and a reputation to uphold the glorious game that we call baseball. When he came here, all Contreras could talk about was making sure he did right by Yadier Molina, the full-time catcher for the previous 19 years. Tradition and passion are what line Willson, and that’s a necessary asset as a new look takes shape.
A strong bat never hurts a team that often squandered decent starting pitching the completed 2024 season. Take away a couple freak injuries, and Contreras is in MVP talks. That’s how good he was swinging the bat. After a seemingly comeback year in 2022 with Chicago, Contreras has improved his OPS each season with St. Louis: .815, .826, .848.
The long ball power potential is only going up. While playing in 41 less games this past season, Contreras smoked 15 home runs following 2023’s total of 20. The slugging percentage has held strong around .468, a mark that Molina couldn’t maintain even in his more slug-happy days.
The catching ability of Contreras improved since his Cardinals debut that was shrouded in unfortunately public scrutiny. Jack Flaherty whined, Adam Wainwright set the rook straight, and Contreras found himself in the outfield. Oli Marmol management at its lowest mark. Both improved from that bumpy launch. All Fangraphs catching sabermetrics showed improvement for him in 2024.
The main problem was the total games played of 209. For two seasons, that’s an unsavory yearly average for a team in need of a long-term answer behind the plate. While his improvements were nice and helped the team in a rough time, the team’s decision to move him to first base in 2025 is a wise choice.
First off, he is bound to hang in there for more games. Second, he will pick up the position easily. If anyone else can make a quick transition to first base, it’s a catcher. Used to rough landings from throws via a pitcher’s arm, a bounce or two from third or short won’t be hard to handle. He will ease in just fine.
Third, the bat will be in the lineup more often. When he isn’t manning first base, Contreras will start in the designated hitter position. A healthy and consistent slugging percentage shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially in a usually hitter-restrictive Busch Stadium. He put up a decent yet not outstanding .781 OPS at Busch last season, following an .804 performance in 2023. When he can crank it up to .907 on the road, that’s a nice kick to have in a possibly stale lineup.
He’ll stick around, and so will Sonny Gray. Unless the team gets blown away by an offer, the no-trade clause-carrying righthander will be the ace next year. Ryan Helsley is most likely gone, the byproduct of bad timing and white hot value. Nolan Arenado heading elsewhere depends on how much money St. Louis eats. A bounce-back season isn’t out of the question there. Get value, or hold onto him. If they can get someone to foot $18-20 million of that $35 million price tag, move him and install Brendan Donovan or Jordan Walker at third.
Imagine Walker going there and excelling defensively, which would trigger an uptick at the plate. Contreras can be the rock that this lineup needs moving forwards, and the fire in the belly of this Cardinals team heading into unknown waters.
The offseason is only getting warmed up. Pour a couple fingers of bourbon, and get ready for some reshaping. One thing is for certain: Contreras is here to stay.
Dream:
I too appreciate the argument as well but if this team is in complete rebuild, I would let Contreras go, though I am intrigued with your suggestion to move Walker to third-his historic position.
If they are going to try and rebuild then I would keep Contreras.
Let’s see which direction they go.
Carlin Dead but appalled that they raised season ticket prices
It’s a reasonable argument but I disagree with it. This team is a non-contender, so as a look to the future, I’d rather give one of our many awful defensive players, like Burleson or Walker, the chance to grow into the 1B position. Trade Contreras if we can’t find a spot for him.