With the St. Louis Cardinals slowly but surely climbing out of the 10-game hole they dug themselves into in the NL Central to start the season, it’s safe to say that the drama with new catcher Willson Contreras is a thing of the past.
St. Louis briefly experimented with using him exclusively as a designated hitter while using Andrew Knizner as the primary catcher.
The Cardinals backtracked and ultimately returned Contreras to his rightful position.
On Twitter, the St. Louis sports page “Gateway Grinders” pointed out an interesting stat which shows that Contreras was never the issue for the Cardinals.
Maybe, just maybe, Contreras is a good catcher 🤷♂️ #STLCards pic.twitter.com/cZGQpQuXN6
— Gateway Grinders (@gatewaygrinders) May 23, 2023
The team is 5-0 in games Contreras has caught since they ended the experiment, and 0-3 in games where other catchers have started.
Of course, there were issues within the organization related to the team’s struggles.
The crux of their issues has been the struggles of the starting rotation.
However, with catchers other than Contreras starting, the Cardinals have gone 0-3 since the experiment ended.
There are multiple issues that could be at play here.
However, what is obvious is that Contreras being back behind the plate is a boon for the Cardinals as they continue their long climb from 10 games back of first place.
They are now just five games out of first after winning four consecutive series against the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
On Monday, Contreras was used as a DH.
The Cardinals ultimately lost by a final score of 6-5, being walked off in extra innings.
Having Contreras back at the catcher spot has certainly helped the Cardinals.
Not having him in that spot has caused some issues.
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