When the St. Louis Cardinals signed Willson Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2023 MLB season, they thought they were signing Yadier Molina's replacement behind the dish and as a clubhouse leader. Well, we're over halfway through the 2025 campaign, and not only is Contreras no longer catching, but he's very clearly not the leader Cardinals fans hoped he'd be.
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, Contreras was asked whether he'd have interest in getting traded. John Mozeliak asked him this because Contreras has a full no-trade clause, so Contreras must approve any deal he'd be involved in. He reiterated his desire to remain in St. Louis, according to MLB.com's John Denton. That might sound like a good thing, but his reasoning is not what Cardinals fans will want to hear.
Willson Contreras said he met recently with #STLCards POBO John Mozeliak and reiterated his desire to stay in St. Louis.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) July 29, 2025
Contreras said on top of being happy with the Cardinals, he has already won a World Series ring and doesn’t want to join a contender to chase another one.
Contreras says he's happy with the Cardinals, which is a good thing, but the second part of that tweet is what's really concerning. He says he's already won a World Series ring, and he doesn't want to join a contender to chase another one. Oh, boy.
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Willson Contreras just insulted the Cardinals without trying to
First and foremost, sure, Contreras has a ring, but that was with the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals' biggest rivals. Does he really think anyone in or near St. Louis wants to hear about how happy he is to have won with the Cubs?
Second, did Contreras not just call out the Cardinals? He says he does not want to join a contender to chase another ring. Yes, everybody knows this Cardinals team isn't winning in 2025, but it certainly sounds as if Contreras is saying the Cardinals aren't going to be contenders anytime soon. That might be the case, but Contreras shouldn't believe that, or at least say so publicly.
This just comes off as Contreras being satisfied with his one World Series ring (which he won with the Cardinals' arch-rivals), and just being happy with the contract and situation he's in with the Cardinals. I'm not here to fault Contreras for being happy where he is, but this just suggests he doesn't care nearly as much about winning as Cardinals fans might've hoped.
Willson Contreras has insulted the Cardinals before
What makes this worse is that this isn't the first time Contreras has insulted the Cardinals. Earlier this season, we saw Contreras go out of his way to call out the Cardinals' pitching staff for not backing him up after he was hit by a pitch. Last season, Contreras called out John Mozeliak for essentially not doing his job well enough.
The Cardinals thought they were acquiring a great player and leader. He's lived up to his end of the contract as a player, but as a leader, I mean, how many times do we have to call Contreras out for him insulting the organization?
Contreras wanting to stay in St. Louis can be looked at as a good thing, but the reasons why he wants to stay with the Cardinals just don't give fans much of a reason to be thrilled, at the end of the day.