MLB Rumors: Willson Contreras revenge, Max Fried replacement, Carlos Rodon update

MLB Rumors: Willson Contreras gets his revenge

The next phase of the Cardinals-Willson Contreras experiment got off to a productive start on Monday night. Contreras, signed as the team’s catcher, started at designated hitter and recorded two hits in four at-bats, driving in two runs in the process.

Contreras embraced the villain role in his return to Wrigley Field. He was booed by his former fans, and routinely turned to the crowd and asked for more. It was a surprising display from a player who admittedly wears his emotions on his sleeve.

On the one hand, it’s good to see Contreras succeed at the plate. On the other, it’s odd that the Cards felt the need to change anything. Yadier Molina was the backstop in St. Louis for so long, perhaps the Cardinals got used to a certain defensive standard. Most catchers, however, are not Yadier Molina. Contreras isn’t an elite defensive catcher.

St. Louis’s front office also failed to address some very obvious needs in the starting rotation this offseason. A catcher like Molina can mask some of those problems, but Contreras (and most catchers) aren’t capable of such things. As FanSided’s Kevin Henry laid out, the Cardinals are using Contreras as a scapegoat.

"“With a 1-2 count, opposing batters are now slashing .230/.233/.359 against Cardinals pitchers. At 2-2, the numbers go to .227/.232/.387. The full count numbers, however, are a bit stunning. Look at the jump in the on-base percentage in the slash line (.218/.472/.394) and you’ll see an area where Cardinals pitchers have certainly not done their part keeping runners off the bases. St. Louis pitchers as a whole rank 27th in bWAR at minus-2.5. At catcher, the Cardinals rank 19th at minus-0.1 (with Contreras by himself fifth on the team at 0.6). No other position comes close to matching the inefficiency found on the mound in St. Louis so far this season.”"

It’s easy to blame Contreras’s defensive shortcomings for any number of issues, but until the Cardinals add some bonafide starting pitching, they will always be flawed, even should they defeat Chicago this series.