Willson Contreras told David Ross he wanted to stay with Cubs, but to no avail

Current St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras revealed to The Athletic that he told Chicago Cubs manager David Ross that he wanted to stay.

The worst thing a fanbase can see is one of their top players leaving in free agency, only to sign with their division rival. That is exactly what the Chicago Cubs faithful are currently dealing with, as catcher Willson Contreras signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs had the opportunity to trade Contreras at the deadline this past season but opted instead to keep him for the remainder of the season.

While speaking with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), Contreras revealed that he tried to force his way to stay with the Cubs. In fact, he said that he actually met with Cubs manager David Ross and told him “this is where I want to be.”

Obviously, it didn’t pan out, as a teammate actually gave Contreras the heads up that the Cubs were ready to move forward without him.

Willson Contreras told David Ross that he wanted to stay with Cubs

"“I was like, ‘OK, I think my job is done here,’” Contreras said. “Whatever they do will take a while for me to heal, to get over it. But at the same time, I knew I did a really good job in the last six years. I proved myself in the big leagues. I never got sent down once, which is really important for a catcher.“I told my agent, ‘I know there is going to be a team interested in me.’ A lot of people thought I wasn’t going to get what I got. But I trust God. And God knows how much sacrifice I put into my work. Once the negotiations started, and I heard the Cardinals were the first team interested in me, I was like, ‘That’s a team I’d like to play for.’"

The Cardinals were an obvious team that needed a catcher heading into the offseason after longtime backstop Yadier Molina retired at the end of the 2022 season. Filling the shoes of a legendary catcher would be hard for any team. Luckily for them, the Cubs let their starting catcher walk into free agency, and the Cardinals flew in to try and sign him.

Five years and $87.5 million later, the Cardinals found their catcher in Contreras.

This past season, Contreras recorded a .243 batting average, a .349 on-base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage, 22 home runs, 55 RBI, 65 runs scored, and 101 hits. Defensively, recorded 605 putouts, 46 assists, and four errors on 655 chances, while recording a season-high seven passed balls, per Baseball Reference.

The Cubs will have Tucker Barnhart as their starting catcher heading into spring training after signing a two-year, $6.5 million deal in free agency. The Cubs also have Yan Gomes as an option to catch this season.

Contreras wanted to stay a Cub, but now he has moved on, where he will be the starting catcher for the Cardinals.