Cardinals rising star makes the Willson Contreras signing all the more confusing

The St. Louis Cardinals can't seem to do anything right in 2024, and manager Oli Marmol's scary quote won't instill much confidence in the team or fans, paving the way for a potential second consecutive last-place NL Central finish.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's questionable decision-making has riled up the St. Louis faithful, including the decision to trade outfielder Tyler O'Neill this past offseason. But they have 87.5 million reasons to be more upset with the signing of catcher and designated hitter Willson Contreras, especially with the ascension of rising star Ivan Herrera.

Development of Ivan Herrera makes the Cardinals signing Willson Contreras even more confusing

St. Louis signed Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million contract in 2022 to be their starting catcher but has since deployed him in different roles like designated hitter and left field because of poor defensive ability behind the plate, essentially making him a scapegoat for their pitching staff.

So why bring him in to replace future Hall of Fame backstop Yadier Molina in the first place, especially considering they have an intriguing young option who continues to improve in Herrera?

Herrera has appeared in nine games this season and caught in eight thanks to Contreras assuming the position of designated hitter for the Cardinals and has seized the opportunity. He has hit three home runs and seven RBIs with a .290/.294/.581 slash line across 34 plate appearances while showing improvement behind the plate defensively compared to when he first made his major-league debut in 2022.

Why is Contreras the third-highest paid catcher in the MLB for a Cards team that is going nowhere quickly and already features an intriguing 23-year-old in Herrera, who plays the same position? It is tough to understand, primarily because the latter has been a part of St. Louis' farm system since 2016, so they have had plenty of time to evaluate him and see that they have a blue-chip prospect on their hands.

Sitting at 6-7, the Cardinals are in an unenviable spot moving forward as they look to return to their winning ways, and the signing of Contreras in 2022 with Herrera already on the roster only exacerbated the problem while highlighting why they are in this situation.