St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras has gotten off to a solid start this year, hitting .280 with six homers and 12 RBI. The 31-year-old is in his second season with the Cards after his seven-year stint with the Chicago Cubs.
Unfortunately, though, Contreras suffered a setback to his season on Tuesday. The ninth-year veteran exited the game with an arm injury, via MLB.com's John Denton.
St. Louis announced that Contreras has a left forearm fracture, and his timetable to return is currently unknown. He was replaced by backup catcher Ivan Herrera, and JD Martinez was awarded first base for catcher's interference.
Contreras had been having a good day, doubling and scoring during the Cardinals' three-run first inning.
How will this affect St. Louis going forward?
The Cardinals may experience a long-term drop-off in catcher play
While Herrera is just 23 years old and has plenty of time to develop, he doesn't have much of a track record. Across three seasons in his career, the 5-foot-11, 220-pound catcher is slashing .221/.295/.320 with three homers and 16 RBI. Contreras, on the other hand, has a .258/.352/.463 slash line with 143 homers and 144 RBI.
Contreras is also a three-time All-Star and a former World Series champion, winning back in 2016 with the Cubs. Of course, comparing the players is inherently unfair due to Contreras being eight years older. However, the point is that the Cardinals will have to deal with a significant downgrade at the catcher position, through no fault of Herrera's own.
The question now is how long will Contreras be out for? It's impossible to say an exact timeline for now, but it should be around a couple of months, via Integrated Rehabilitation Services (IRS).
“A broken arm typically takes six weeks to heal,” IRS said. “However, multiple factors can shorten or lengthen recovery time, including the type of break and where it occurred. Additional injury to the wrist and elbow typically involve a lengthier recovery than anywhere else along the upper or forearm.”
This isn't great timing for St. Louis, as the club sits in last place in the NL Central at 15-21. The offense has been struggling, ranking 27th in the league with a .217 batting average. Additionally, the club ranks 29th with just 26 homers.
Contreras was one of the few players on the squad doing well at the plate. He ranks second on the team (among starters) in batting average, and also leads in homers. Contreras and Nolan Arenado are the only starters on the Cardinals hitting over .270.
If Herrera can't step up from his normal level of production in Contreras' absence, the offense might be in trouble. With St. Louis already 6.5 games out of first place, the club will fall completely out of range of the division lead by the time Contreras comes back if someone else doesn't step up.
However, it's still early, and there's plenty of time for the Cardinals to turn things around. At the same, time, time is a benefit that will only last for so long. Hopefully, for St. Louis, the bats heat up sooner rather than later.
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