ST. LOUIS – It’s the first St. Louis Cardinals season without Yadier Molina as the primary catcher in nearly two decades, and things haven’t quite gone as planned for his heir.
Willson Contreras signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract in the offseason, the largest deal the Cardinals have ever rewarded to a free agent who didn’t previously play for the franchise previously. It’s a deal the three-time All Star signed with the intention to not only follow the footsteps of Molina, but join a competitive squad.
Less than halfway through his first Cardinals campaign, Contreras has dealt many roadblocks that have left those visions unfulfilled.
Last month, as the Cardinals struggled to navigate out of an eight-game losing skid, Contreras was informed of a plan that led to fewer starts at catcher and, for nearly a week, being used exclusively at designated hitter. The plan essentially stripped his duties as starting catcher at a pivotal time in the season.
Contreras stayed resilient and won his job back quickly, but it seems there are some ripple effects from the situation. Ones that aren’t necessarily tied to his ability to defend or navigate pitchers through games.
After Monday’s loss, the Cardinals are now a season-worst 13 games under .500 and have dropped 10 of their last baker’s dozen.
Even further back, over nearly the last three weeks, Contreras is just 4-for-63 (.073 batting average) with just two RBI and 18 strikeouts. An established veteran in the middle of the lineup is struggling to find a groove offensively and is barely above the Mendoza line (.201) for the season.
Contreras reflected on some early-season challenges after Monday’s loss. He told MLB.com’s John Denton he is “searching for answers,” but they have been hard to come by in recent weeks.
“This is my first time since I’ve been in the big leagues that I have struggled this bad,” said Contreras. “I’ve lost my confidence and I lost my trust, and lost the trust that I came into the season with. It just went away.”
He’s not the only one struggling offensively. The Cardinals are hitting a combined .237 in the month of June (fourth-worst in the National League). In the last two games, both ending with 4-3 losses, the Cardinals are just 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and have stranded 15 runners on base.
“I think you’re going to be frustrated no matter how you lose,” said first baseman Paul Goldschmidt via Bally Sports Midwest. “Whether you get blown out or it’s a one-run loss, it’s a loss. It doesn’t matter, and it’s not what we want.”
The Cardinals, briefly escaped last place in the National League last week, but fell back into it after three straight losses. St. Louis hosts the San Francisco Giants for two more games before an East Coast road trip.