The St. Louis Cardinals have struggled to adapt to Willson Contreras behind the plate, even forcing him to change positions. As it turns out, there may be a reason for that.
Willson Contreras was a high-priced free agent acquisition, as he signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Why, then, would the Cards opt to change his position less than two months into the season?
St. Louis needs a scapegoat, that's why. They have one in Contreras, who started at designated hitter last night against the Chicago Cubs, picking up two hits and just as many RBIs. Was Contreras really THAT bad behind the plate, though? ESPN's Buster Olney weighed in.
It's true — given the stats of the Cardinals rotation, they likely wouldn't make such a bold move without some insight from the guys throwing to Contreras on a daily basis. Still, that doesn't make it the right call, and the stats back me up.
Did Cardinals rotation back Willson Contreras position switch?
FanSided's Kevin Henry noted that Contreras has been scapegoated, for better or worse:
"With a 1-2 count, opposing batters are now slashing .230/.233/.359 against Cardinals pitchers. At 2-2, the numbers go to .227/.232/.387. The full count numbers, however, are a bit stunning. Look at the jump in the on-base percentage in the slash line (.218/.472/.394) and you'll see an area where Cardinals pitchers have certainly not done their part keeping runners off the bases.
St. Louis pitchers as a whole rank 27th in bWAR at minus-2.5. At catcher, the Cardinals rank 19th at minus-0.1 (with Contreras by himself fifth on the team at 0.6). No other position comes close to matching the inefficiency found on the mound in St. Louis so far this season."
Sure, Contreras is a middle-of-the-road defensive catcher, but the Cards should have known that when they signed him. None of this is news, and St. Louis's front office has a front-row seat to Contreras for years. Something doesn't add up.
As Oli Marmol noted, Contreras can "earn" his way back behind the plate. That doesn't make this the right call, though.
