Willson Contreras coming alive could change Cardinals trade deadline plans

Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras has been playing better this past week — but can he keep up the production come the trade deadline in August?

One week after Willson Contreras admitted his confidence in the big leagues was shot, the three-time All-Star is ramping up his production for the down-bad St. Louis Cardinals.

In Tuesday’s 9-3 victory over the Washington Nationals, Contreras went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and a run, his first three-hit game of the 2023 season.

It also marked Contreras’ first game with more than one extra-base hit since May 18. Six hits in the last four games is a fair reason to get cautiously optimistic about Contreras heading into the end of June; however, the former Cub may not be out of the woods just yet.

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As a whole, Contreras’ numbers for 2023 stink. He’s slashing .210/.303/.370 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 67 games. His OPS is a career-low .672, as is his 85 OPS+.

Willson Contreras starts his road to redemption on Cardinals

Contreras signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with St. Louis last December and has noticeably struggled to replace Yadier Molina.

Yet it’s not unheard of for players to escape a slump mid-season: Contreras’ teammate, Paul Goldschmidt, was batting .208 for the D-backs in June of 2018, and he turned his campaign around to finish sixth in NL MVP voting that year.

If the 31-year-old Contreras can do the same and set himself on an improved track for the next month or so, St. Louis might have to re-analyze its trade deadline plans.

Namely, are the Cardinals buying or selling? Contreras’ uptick in production coupled with other dormant stars finding their groove could mean the Cardinals choose to compete in August in the NL Central, where they’re eight games out of first place.

MLB pundits have already theorized plenty about who the Cardinals might be willing to move if they opt for a rebuild at the deadline: Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson, and Tommy Edman. Even Paul Goldschmidt has emerged as a shocking trade candidate.

For the last-place St. Louis Cardinals, the club may be thinking there’s only one way to go from here, and that’s up. The Cardinals’ performances these next few weeks should provide more clarity on their trade deadline plans.