TODAY: The team has announced that Contreras is dealing with a moderate strain that will likely cost him four to six weeks of action (h/t Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com, via Twitter)
YESTERDAY: The Cubs avoided a “worst case scenario” with the hamstring injury catcher Willson Contreras suffered Wednesday, but he’s still likely to miss anywhere from two weeks to a month, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com.
Fortunately for the Cubs, they acquired a quality fallback in former Tigers catcher Alex Avila prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Still, the loss of Contreras is a worrying development for a 59-54 club that’s clinging to a 1.5-game lead over both the Cardinals and Brewers in the National League Central. The Cubs have disappointed in the wake of last year’s World Series-winning campaign, but Contreras has carried his excellent 2016 offensive showing into this season. The 25-year-old has slashed .274/.342/.519 and belted 21 home runs over 374 plate appearances, and his .245 ISO leads all regular catchers. Defensively, Contreras has thrown out a league-average 28 percent of attempted base stealers, though Baseball Prospectus indicates that his framing work has regressed since last season.
Avila, meanwhile, has only totaled nine at-bats and one hit (a home run) as a Cub since they landed him last month. But the 30-year-old was in the midst of an offensive revival before the trade, thanks to an increase in fly balls and his signature plate discipline. The left-handed hitter has been a liability against southpaw pitchers, though, and he hasn’t fared well as a framer. It’s possible the Cubs will scour the August waiver market for a complement, then, with right-handed-hitting catchers Kurt Suzuki (Braves), Nick Hundley (Giants) and A.J. Ellis (Marlins) as potential movers. For at least the time being, Victor Caratini will return from Triple-A to back up Avila. The 23-year-old Caratini, MLB.com’s sixth-ranked Cubs prospect, debuted earlier this season in Chicago and picked up 28 PAs.
Not good at all. He had been the silent leader of the Cubs. This one hurts really bad moving forward
silent is not a word i’d use to describe wilson contreras.
Yesterday on the live chat, it was mentioned that Rene Rivera could also be an option.
Needs veteran that won’t cost much. As long as he’s back for the stretch run the Cubs will be nice. No one is blowing by us in the Central Pitching is coming around. Bats have been a lot better since the all star break and Lester and Arrieta are veterans who know how to keep us in games. Q will be a difference maker in the last month.
Us? You must be on the team huh? The cubs were simply a fluke last year and are overhyped. They’ve got many holes and they may finish 4th. Deal with it!
Trollolololololololololl.
You don’t “fluke” an entire 103-win campaign plus playoffs you moron.
Yeah, he’s an insult to the cardinals’ fans on here who are rational.
Yankeeaddict is that you?
That’s the guys username…sorry from the true Yankee fans on here…
@themed
The Cubs are the defending world champions! Deal with it!
Due to win again in 2135. Deal with it son!
Damn. My autocorrect went crazy there
*We need a veteran that won’t cost much
*as long as Willy is back for the stretch run we will be fine.
Just hope sandy doesn’t pick up another low-level reliever
Why don’t the Cubs go for Ellis?
Light hitter, fantastic catcher, known to be a clubhouse leader, rental and won’t cost much to get him.
I don’t think he’s known to be a clubhouse leader at all. I believe he’s disliked quite a bit.
What is this an Ace Ventura impersonation? Clearly talking out of your ass. Pathetic.
Why don’t they just play Avila and Caratini?
Teams usually have a fire extinguisher catcher in September, with rosters at 40. Getting a usable one until Contreras is healthy would be prudent.
You’re assuming they both stay healthy.
AJ Ellis would be a nice addition… rental or not the team needs something…good against below 500 team… Crappy against. Good playoff teams…the Cubs seem to be On Cruise control. when they should be blowing teams away…..team meeting is needed
AJ Ellis would be a nice addition… rental or not the team needs something…good against below 500 teams… Crappy against. Good playoff teams…the Cubs seem to be On Cruise control. when they should be blowing teams away…..team meeting is needed
I hate to see an opportunity open up for the rest of the division bc if an injury. But hopefully Brewcrew or Birds can capitalize.
When they have to rely on a 2nd string catcher But not Rizzo Bryant and zobrist it’s lost season.
Amen. Contreras has been a hot hitter, but his defense is weaker than average. If the Cubs’ hopes were riding on his shoulders then that tells us something was seriously wrong with the team. This is supposed to be a juggernaut offense with superstars from top to bottom. Shouldn’t Rizzo, Bryant, Russell, Baez, Zobrist, Heyward, and Schwarber be enough to hold off a .500 Brewers team? Maybe they’re all having down seasons or maybe they were overhyped? Either way, the loss of a young catcher wouldn’t throw a very good team off balance. They’re poorly constructed for a postseason run right now.
You’re underestimating quite a few things.
#1 Everyone in that clubhouse knew “that young catcher,” Contreras, was their hot bat, their leading catcher, and he is a leader who leads by example on and off the field. That can be a huge loss for a playoff push.
#2 Those guys are all talented, very talented, but now they are each feeling the pressure. These are young players, for the most part, they were able to succeed last year by riding their pitching and going out and having fun. They aren’t quite accustomed to having all the pressure be on them…
#3 They can succeed though, if they collectively take this loss, not individually. It is so easy for each player to want to be the one who steps up, and then tries to do too much. They need to keep having fun, relax, and take what they are given at the plate.
If they go up to the dish, trying to do too much, they will simply continue to struggle. This is where Maddon needs to step in and show what a great leader he truly is!!
Good luck Cubs, for now you have an extra fan in this Braves fan, it will not be a very easy road ahead. (Besides, Willson’s younger brother William is a hot catching prospect for the Braves, so there is that…lol)
A.J. Ellis was one of the rumored catchers the Cubs were interested up until the non-waiver deadline when they finally completed the deal for Alex Avila. He would be a solid veteran complement to Avila, primarily on the defensive side since his career platoon splits haven’t been favorable versus left-handed pitching. Ellis also had pretty good success with the Dodgers in the postseason from 2013 thru 2015.
Having another veteran catcher on the roster down the stretch might also persuade the Cubs to be more prudent with the use of Willson Contreras behind the plate when he initially returns from his DL stint and minor league rehab. They would have the option of taking advantage of his defensive versatility and could ease him back in LF and 1B until he is 100% recovered and ready to resume his catching duties.
All that being said, Priggs89 comment of just sticking with Avila and rookie Victor Caratini for a few weeks until Contreras returns also makes a lot of sense.
Cubs just are not very good this season. Bullpen was good in the first half and has been mediocre post all star break, especially Edwards. In my opinion of the Cubs bats is they are incapable of stringing together multiple hits to score runs. I say this because if they don’t hit even 1 home run in a game they seem to greatly struggle to string together enough hits to score enough runs to out score the opposition. Ben zobrist is showing signs of decline. Joe maddon should be blamed for Willy’s injury, this coach is the most overrated coach in the entire MLB. Francona out coached him with far less last World Series, I’d even go as far as to say if the table was turned that Tito would have swept the Indiana if he had a team as stacked as the Cubs were. This year is just not the Cubs year.
Indians* damn autocorrect
Not a Maddon fan, but how is this injury Maddons fault?
Maddon is highly regarded by his players and peers as one of the best managers in baseball over the last decade plus…
I’ll gladly take their opinion over yours…To call Maddon overrated is just ignorant. He’s rated right where he should be, as one of the top managers in all of baseball…
It kills me when you have “fans” that just cannot wait to see certain great teams, great coaches, or great players go through some type of struggle, so they can pounce and say, “oh, well they were overrated the whole time anyways.”
People like Maddon become great at their craft through hard work, putting in countless hours of dedication, and all at the expense of their own personal lives and loved ones…
They do not become great by being negative, ignorant, and sitting around waiting for others to fail…
Any manager that wins with Cubs and breaks the supposedly unbreakable curse is going to be tops with many of us Cubs fans. Bryant on base 5 times last night. Time for players to step it up. David Ross pick up the phone.
Avila is having one of his best years, he changed his mask and stance behind the plate to avoid more concussions. He did well for the Tigers at the plate (up until the last 2-3 weeks before traded) and can still be a good every day catcher.
So if all goes well in his rehab, he could be back for the playoffs. Well, that is IF the Cubs make the playoffs without him.
With 24 game stretch against non .500 opponents if they don’t make playoffs this year wasn’t meant to be. Dodgers look unbeatable right now. Let’s see how they do going forward with pressure of best record doesn’t always win World Series. Cubs will be under the radar team in playoffs (if make)
If the Cubs cannot hold off mediocre Pirate, Cardinal, and Brewer teams, then they should be embarrassed. This would, though, put an end to all the annoying talk of a dynasty in Chicago. It’s rough to hear some Cubs fans anoint this team a dynasty after a single championship. Dynastic teams can win a weak division.
If that occurred, it would be very reminiscent of the 1985 Chicago Bears. As a Cub fan, hopefully they will more resemble the “three-peat” x 2 Chicago Bulls of the early to mid-1990’s.