3 STL Cardinals to thank for reigniting the season

Players to thank for STL Cardinals turnaround: Willson Contreras, C/DH

Weeks ago, I had Contreras on a list inverted from this one: Players to blame for the skid the Cardinals were on. While I felt he was at least partially responsible for the pitching woes, it did seem unfair that the Cardinals completely moved him off his position and fumbled the announcement on what his role with the team would be while he wasn’t behind the plate.

Contreras deserves a ton of credit for keeping his head up and staying prepared while the environment around him seemed, quite honestly, like a whirlwind of incompetence.

Eventually, Contreras was brought back in as catcher on May 15 and in the three games since being placed back in his natural position has committed zero errors and allowed no passed balls. That’s a good start from the fielding standpoint.

The Cardinals should have known, Contreras was never going to be elite behind the plate in blocking or pitch framing. You bring him in primarily for his bat and as a serviceable option at catcher. That he has been over the last 10 games. He has 10 RBI and is slashing .231/.348/.539. All games prior he was at .265/.341/.393. His slugging has improved tremendously thanks to three homers in the last 10 games after just two the rest of the season.

There is still a long way to go for Contreras to prove the deal the Cards signed him to was worth it, but he has turned things around despite there being clear doubts about his future on the team.