Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras has been recognized with a fractured left forearm, the staff introduced. The membership didn’t present an instantaneous restoration timeline, however he’s clearly in for a prolonged absence.
Contreras suffered the damage in tonight’s recreation in opposition to the Mets. He took a direct hit on a J.D. Martinez swing as he went to obtain a Miles Mikolas providing (video offered on X by MLB.com’s John Denton). Contreras was in apparent ache instantly and testing rapidly revealed the damaged bone. Contreras instructed reporters after the sport that he’ll bear surgical procedure and expects to overlook six to eight weeks (X hyperlink by way of Denton). Contreras is taking pictures for a return across the All-Star Break.
In a lineup the place nearly everybody has underperformed, Contreras has been the Cardinals’ vivid spot. He’s hitting .280/.398/.551 via 128 plate appearances. Amongst catchers with 100+ plate appearances, solely Ryan Jeffers has been narrowly higher by measure of wRC+. Contreras has additionally been by far one of the best participant within the St. Louis lineup, handily main the staff in on-base share, slugging and residential runs.
Younger backstop Iván Herrera will step into the first catching job. The previous high prospect is hitting .215/.264/.369 over 72 journeys to the plate. Pedro Pages is the one different catcher on the 40-man roster. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Submit-Dispatch tweets that Pages was pulled halfway via his recreation in Triple-A, suggesting he’ll be recalled tomorrow.
Contreras is within the second season of a five-year free agent deal. He’s a .266/.366/.481 hitter in just a little greater than 600 plate appearances as a Cardinal.