Contreras eschews trades, changes positions to remain a Cardinal. He also wants to win
All in all, Willson Contreras has not had the smoothest ride in his tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals.
His first season saw him chucked under the bus by disgruntled (and soon to depart) pitchers barely a month after opening day. His second, as he began to flourish and thrive, was cut short by freak injuries. It would be difficult to blame him if, staring in the face of an advertised reset, he requested a ticket out of town.
“The first thing that I said to them when I signed here is that by the time I leave the team, I want to see the team better than what I found,” Contreras said Monday, asked to explain his rationale for doubling down, making new sacrifices, and staying in St. Louis rather than being pushed out by the changing tide.
“It was going to be easier for me to request a trade and leave everything behind, but because I love these guys, I love the team, I love my teammates, I need to stick with them.”
Chief among the changes to which Contreras had to agree was a shift in position.
When the Cardinals distributed their first spring training roster last week, it listed nine catchers. Contreras was not among them, shuffled in with the infielders instead. He’s now a full-time first baseman, part-time designated hitter, and even teased and winked at the possibility of roaming the outfield.
Did he order new catcher’s gear for this year? Of course. For now, though, it’ll largely stay in the packaging.
“When they presented me the opportunity to play first base, I hesitated a little bit, but then I said no,” Contreras said, referring to his temptation to refuse the suggestion. “If I move to first base, I open the opportunity to create a better roster and have more depth to it. We need Iván [Herrera]’s bat. We need [Pedro] Pagés’ defense. I think we’re gonna have a better and complete change of the lineup.”
From the moment the Cardinals began to pursue Contreras in earnest, it was clear to them that the competitor who had snarled from across the way for so many seasons would be able to benefit their energy by turning that aggression inward. Over multiple hours at a hotel near his home in Orlando, Contreras spoke with and of passion, and by the end of the meeting, at least manager Oli Marmol was converted. He was going to be their guy, and whatever else has changed around him in the succeeding two years, that much remains the same.
“His exact words to me were, ‘this is how much I care about this team,’” Marmol relayed, describing his conversation with Contreras in the wake of the positional switch pitch. “He’s willing to do just about anything you ask him to do. He wants to be here. He wants to be a part of what we’re doing, and if that means splitting time at first and DHing, he is willing to do what’s needed in order to help this team get to where we want to get to.”
Work has already begun at the team’s complex in Florida with first base coach Stubby Clapp and newly-titled fundamentals coordinator José Oquendo. Contreras has posted a total of 51 ⅓ innings at first base in his big league career, none more recently than 2019. The position is, as the fictional version of Ron Washington memorably declared in the film Moneyball, incredibly hard.
There will be mistakes. There will be moments in which Paul Goldschmidt’s stellar defense at first base is missed. There’s no way around that. For Contreras, though, the difficulty is part of the point.
“I love challenges,” he said. “When I signed here, we were supposed to win. I know that a lot of people are doubting us as a team, and are doubting the Cardinals. That’s one thing that I hate, for sure. But I also love the fire the fans are bringing because they’re paying to see us win.
“My main reason [to stay] was because I know this team is going to be able to turn around and go deep into October. And second of all, it’s just the fans and my teammates. I cannot be somewhere else.”
Contreras has three seasons remaining on his contract, as well as a team option for 2028. Whether his desire to stay now is one which will last the duration of that deal depends on a number of factors that, at the moment, are simply impossible to predict. All that can be known and seen for the moment, though, is that a team which is advertising a step back could well be prepared forward by one of its most important, most productive, and most stubborn hitters.
If the organization wants to go young, Contreras is prepared to go young. Perhaps moving to first takes years off his legs. Perhaps it gives him a fresh perspective. His brother William, himself a star catcher with the Milwaukee Brewers, teased him over the winter about his famously surly demeanor with opponents. As a first baseman, William reminded him, he’ll have to be congenial and friendly with opponents, chatting them up when they reach base.
That might require some additional adjusting, but Contreras sounds more than ready for the process to play out.
“I’m gonna try to be the best teammate I can,” he said. “I’m gonna try to be the best leader I can. I think if I see something that is off, I’ll probably let them know.”
Some old habits die harder than others, as they should.
