The St. Louis Cardinals checked a major item off of their offseason to-do list on Wednesday, signing former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million deal to replace the retired Yadier Molina.
Contreras was a three-time All-Star and a 2016 World Series champion during his time with the Cubs.
Now, the star catcher has flipped sides on the famous rivalry between the two teams.
Contreras played a total of 734 games with the Cubs during the first seven years of his career.
Now a Cardinal, Contreras has a chance to make some rivalry history, becoming the first player to ever play 500 or more games with both the Cubs and Cardinals.
Willson Contreras played 734 games with the Cubs
No player has played even 500+ career games with each of the Cubs and Cardinals
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) December 7, 2022
Cards Land Contreras
The Cardinals got their man.
Now, they’ll look to address other areas of the roster.
But now that Contreras is in the fold, the star catcher can make his mark on the Cardinals organization, just as he had with the Cubs for so many years.
He’ll join an exclusive list of players who have played on both sides of the Cardinals and Cubs rivalry, one that features Jim Edmonds, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jason Heyward, Dexter Fowler, Lou Brock, Rogers Hornsby, Jason Motte, and others.
Never before has a player played 500 or more games on both sides of this historic rivalry, but that is likely to change in the coming years.
The three-time All-Star hit for a .243 average during the regular season, but still managed to hit 22 home runs.
The Cardinals lineup will feature a solid big three of Contreras, MVP Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado.
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