2023-05-14 07:40:14
BOSTON — Willson Contreras, the big free-agent signing whom the Cardinals gave $87.5 million over the winter to be their catcher for the next five years, will once again be behind the plate when St. Louis takes on the rival Brewers in the Busch Stadium on Monday night.
Manager Oliver Mármol revealed Saturday that the Cardinals have decided that the Venezuelan is ready to resume his activities as a catcher after spending much of the last week working to get in sync with the style of game plan the team wants to use at the hour. to attack batters. Mármol indicated that Monday’s starter, Jack Flaherty, also advocated for Contreras to be behind the plate to start the series against the Brewers.
The last time Contreras caught was on May 4 in the Cardinals’ 11-7 loss to the Angels, in which Flaherty gave up 10 runs and nine hits. Contreras was the ninth-inning catcher on May 5 when the team used a backup hitter in place of starting catcher Andrew Knizner and gave up the designated hitter. The St. Louis Ninth then announced on May 6 that Contreras would be used exclusively as a designated hitter while working with the coaches and staff to better fit the style of the Cardinals’ game plans for their catchers.
“We feel very good about the progress we’ve made, and it fits very well for me to catch Monday with Jack on the mound,” Mármol said of the decision to have Contreras return to the catching role. “This is what (Flaherty and Contreras) wanted. They both wanted it, and Willson really wanted to be behind the plate on Monday. And we feel good programming it like that with all the progress we’ve made.”
Contreras, who turned 31 on Saturday, will likely continue to serve in a designated hitter role for the rest of the weekend. The veteran, who spent the first seven years of his major league career with the Cubs before signing with the Cardinals in December, homered Friday in an 8-6 win over the Red Sox and was in the starting lineup for St. Louis on Saturday as the designated hitter. He entered Saturday hitting .263 with three home runs, 10 doubles and 18 RBIs.
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