Did the Cardinals attempt to fix Willson Contreras get him badly injured?

The St. Louis Cardinals are having a miserable 2024 season and it likely got a whole lot worse on Tuesday.

In the second inning against the New York Mets, catcher Willson Contreras took a hit from JD Martinez's bat. The sound of the contact alone would have anyone seriously concerned for Contreras even without seeing him screaming in pain.

Unsurprisingly, Contreras had to leave the game. But John Denton of MLB.com shed some light on the unfortunate incident that makes it seem like the Cardinals are at fault for this one.

It turns out the Cardinals have told Contreras to position himself closer to the plate so that he can get to low strikes. It's likely he was only in the path of Martinez's bat because of that adjustment. Obviously, we can't say for sure the catcher wouldn't have been hit if he hadn't been told to get closer to the batter, but it's a reasonable conclusion to draw.

To add insult to injury, Contreras was hit with catcher interference, sending Martinez to first base.

Willson Contreras injury update: Cardinals catcher out after bat strike

Sometimes bad-looking injuries aren't so serious. Unfortunately, in this case a bad-looking injury was indeed serious.

The team confirmed that Contreras suffered a left arm fracture on the play.

That's a tough blow for the catcher and the team. In a lineup of struggling bats, Contreras was carrying the offense. This season he's slashed .274/.394/.538 with an OPS+ of 167. He led the team with six home runs. The rest of the Cardinals' slumping stars are going to have to step up in his absence.

Ivan Herrera took Contreras place on Tuesday night with the Cardinals leading 3-0. He's going to have to fill in far longer than anyone would have wanted. Contreras won't be back behind the plate for several months.