The Chicago Cubs are ready to make moves, and these 3 teams should make a deal for catcher Willson Contreras.
The Chicago Cubs openly want to reduce payroll, and this week’s deal that sent Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres may have broken the seal. According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, the Cubs are now “extensively shopping” catcher Willson Contreras.
Contreras had a down but better year than many of his notable teammates in 2020 (.763 OPS, seven home runs in 57 games). He was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019, and he’s got a career OPS of .814 over 1,889 plate appearances with two 20-homer seasons on his resume.
Contreras has also become a good defensive backstop, throwing out 35 percent of runners last season (32 percent for his career). Last season, as cited by MLB Trade Rumors via Statcast, he was in the 85th percentile as a pitch framer.
Contreras is projected to earn between $5 million and $7.4 million via arbitration for next season, with another year of arbitration-eligibility after that. Despite that level of team control, the Cubs are motivated to move him as they consider all kinds of moves.
Teams who have a need but aren’t in on free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto now have Contreras as a cheaper, cost-controlled for the next two years.
Here are teams who should trade for Willson Contreras
Yadier Molina may still prefer to re-sign with the Cardinals, but the only team he has played for doesn’t seem ready to oblige his desire for a two-year deal — let alone a deal in line with what he thinks his value is at 38 years old.
If they can’t come together with Molina on a deal soon, the Cardinals may need to act quickly to secure a viable, proven catcher. A trade for Contreras gets them younger and likely a little cheaper at the position for 2021, while also taking a talented player from their chief rival. How much the Cubs care about the division rivalry element as they shop Contreras is unclear, but if the Cardinals ultimately come with the best offer, it shouldn’t matter.
Having faced him plenty, the Cardinals are familiar with Contreras, and to be frank, he hasn’t hit particularly well overall against them or on the road at Busch Stadium. But that should not necessarily prevent a deal, and the Cardinals rarely miss a worthy opportunity to add talent.
The Nationals seem to be firmly in the market for a catcher, as they’ve been mentioned in the mix for J.T. Realmuto and as a “fallback option” for Yadier Molina if he doesn’t go back to the Cardinals. Yan Gomes is under contract though next season, but an upgrade appears to be in order.
Washington has just over $137 million in payroll committed for 2021, so signing Realmuto to a deal he’s in line to command seems unlikely. Molina would come cheaper on no more than a two-year deal, so if there’s a more likely option of the top-two remaining free-agent catchers, it’s him.
The sample size obviously isn’t huge since the Nationals are an out-of-division opponent (38 plate appearances; 11 games), but Contreras has hit .355 with three home runs and a 1.137 OPS in his career at Nationals Park. When taking into account the caliber of Washington’s starting rotation in particular, maybe that small sample is meaningful.
The team control left on Contreras is meaningful to teams who may not want to raise payroll much this offseason. Where the Nationals sit on that is not abundantly clear, but they are still in a win-now window and have been prominently in some trade rumors. A trade for an upgrade at catcher is now viable, as the Cubs are ready to drop one in someone’s lap. That someone might well be the 2019 World Champions.
The Angels have a clear need at catcher, unless they want to bet on Max Stassi’s outlier offensive season in 2020 (.286, .886 OPS) repeating next year. A top-heavy payroll isn’t helpful to making any major moves this offseason, but another $6 million or so committed to Contreras for 2021 is not a significant difference. Albert Pujols’ contract finally ends after next season, so a trade for Contreras could be backed up by an eventual multi-year deal. He can DH some in the American League regardless of a possible universal DH rule, and his bat should play into his 30s.
The Angels have to be done wasting Mike Trout’s prime, once and for all, and new general manager Pierre Minasian has to have some moves on his radar as payroll starts to free up over the next couple years. If the Cubs simply want to offload Contreras as he approaches more money in arbitration and eventually free agency after 2022, the Angels not having a top-end farm system may not be a detriment to them getting him.
The options beyond Realmuto aren’t great at catcher, via trade or free agency, and the Angels aren’t going there on Realmuto. Contreras being available is practically a godsend for the Angels, and they need to get it done with the Cubs.