The Chicago Cubs placed All-Star catcher Willson Contreras on the 10-day IL with an ankle sprain, per Meghan Montemurro. Michael Hermosillo was activated from the IL and Nicholas Padilla was designated for assignment in a pair of corresponding moves.

Contreras is arguably the best offensive catcher in baseball. He was slashing .246/.351/.471 with an .822 OPS and 21 home runs at the time of his IL designation. Willson Contreras is an extremely valuable asset given the lack of offensive-based catchers in the game. Many backstops are known for their defensive prowess behind the plate. But they lack overall balance and tend to be automatic outs at the plate.

Meanwhile, Contreras is a better hitter than fielder. But he still features fairly impressive defensive ability.

The majority of the MLB world expected Willson Contreras to be traded ahead of the 2022 MLB trade deadline. But the Cubs shockingly did not trade Contreras nor outfielder Ian Happ.

With the Cubs out of playoff contention, this IL move is not the worst thing in the world for the team. They want to ensure that he's fully healthy before having him return to baseball activities.

For Willson Contreras, there is some concern from a contract perspective. He is set to hit free agency and surely wanted to make a strong impression ahead of the offseason. But he's likely already done enough to guarantee himself plenty of interest in MLB free agency. For now, he will focus on getting healthy and returning ahead of the end of the season.