The St. Louis Cardinals seem to not be sure what to do with Willson Contreras. They signed him to be their catcher for the next five years during this past offseason. However, St. Louis then made the decision to have Contreras start playing the role of DH on a consistent basis, with the possibility of seeing reps in the outfield as well. St. Louis recently changed their tune on Contreras possibly playing outfield, but he is still expected to be their DH… or so we thought.
Contreras will reportedly catch Jack Flaherty on Monday, per Katie Woo. So does this mean Contreras will return to full-time catching duties? Will he be the Cardinals part-time catcher? Right now, the situation is unclear to say the least.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol gave an explanation for Contreras' return to the catching position for Jack Flaherty's start versus the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, per John Denton.
“We felt really good about the progress that we've made and it lines up really well for him to catch on Monday with Jack (Flaherty) on the mound,” Marmol said.
The decision to initially remove Contreras was questionable. After all, making such a big transition so early into the season seemed rather rushed. The Cardinals need to understand that Contreras will not ever be Yadier Molina behind the plate. However, he can continue to improve his catching skills if St. Louis provides him with the opportunity to do so.
It will be intriguing to see how this situation ultimately impacts Contreras in the long run.
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