5 months agoSt. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak stated Wednesday that catcher
Willson Contreras will be transitioned to a first base/designated hitter role in 2025. The hope is that the move will keep the 32-year-old healthy and allow him to extend the life of his career. The veteran backstop had a solid season for the time he was on the field in 2024, posting a .262-15-36-48-4 line with a .370 wOBA and 140 wRC+, but played in just 84 games due to varying injuries. He's expected to be ready to go for 2025, and the added positional flexibility should give him some additional value in fantasy leagues.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Katie Woo - The Athletic
7 months agoSt. Louis Cardinals catcher
Willson Contreras (finger) will need two more weeks of rest before beginning baseball activities. That being said, the right-handed slugger won't be returning to the Cards lineup before the end of the regular season. It has been an injury riddled year for Contreras who only managed to play in 84 games. Luckily, the veteran catcher should be healed up and ready to go in time for spring training. Contreras finishes the season with a .263 batting average with 15 home runs and 36 RBI. The assumption is that
Pedro Pages and
Ivan Herrera will split up the catching duties for the rest of the season. Herrera is the better fantasy option between the two with a .280 batting average and 22 RBI in 65 games this season.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Derrick Goold
7 months agoSt. Louis Cardinals catcher
Willson Contreras (finger), who is currently sidelined with a broken left middle finger, will be re-evaluated on Monday, and the Cardinals will then plan his path to a return, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Contreras didn't need surgery on his finger and has been out of a splint for the past week and is eager to return before the end of the 2024 season. The 32-year-old veteran backstop has been out since Aug. 24, and if he does manage to make it back before the end of September, it might only be for a handful of games, so fantasy managers shouldn't be counting on him at all the rest of the way. In the meantime, rookie
Pedro Pages and
Ivan Herrera will continue to split playing time behind the plate. Contreras was well on his way to a fourth straight 20-plus-homer season in 2024 before suffering the second serious injury of the campaign.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - John Denton
7 months agoSt. Louis Cardinals catcher
Willson Contreras (finger) will not need surgery on his broken finger, according to manager Oliver Marmol. However, Contreras will be no impact for three weeks. The Cardinals have five weeks left in the regular season. The door is open for a return, but Contreras has no room for a setback along the way. The 32-year-old veteran backstop suffered a fractured right middle finger over the weekend when he was hit by a pitch and has already been placed on the injured list. Even if he does make it back at the tail end of the season, he's not going to have much time left to provide meaningful numbers for fantasy managers.
Pedro Pages will now operate as St. Louis' primary catcher, with
Ivan Herrera backing him up. It's a huge loss for the Cardinals as they battle for the final wild-card spot in the National League.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Belleville News - Jeff Jones
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