TODAY: The Cardinals officially announced the IL placement for Contreras, and Herrera’s promotion to the active roster.
AUGUST 24: Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras has suffered a fracture to his right middle finger and is headed for the injured list, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Per Goold, catcher Ivan Herrera is expected to replace Contreras on the active roster tomorrow. Contreras suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch during the club’s loss to the Twins this evening, and a specific timetable for his return is not yet available. Per Goold, Contreras is set to undergo scanning on the injured finger on Monday that could help determine the length of his absence.
While it’s not yet clear exactly how long Contreras figures to be out due to the injury, the news is nonetheless an incredibly frustrating development for the Cardinals. The 32-year-old has been among the club’s most reliable hitters this season with an excellent .263/.379/.470 slash line (141 wRC+) this season but has struggled to stay on the field between this latest injury and a broken arm suffered back in May when he was struck with a backswing after St. Louis coaches suggested he move closer to the plate to improve his pitch framing. With just over a month remaining in the regular season, a lengthy absence for Contreras could spell the end of his 2024 campaign.
Even if Contreras manages to return before the year comes to an end, it’s a worrisome omen for the Cardinals’ dwindling playoff aspirations. The club dropped to a 64-65 record today that puts them below .500 and in third place in the NL Central behind both the Brewers and Cubs. Given Milwaukee’s near-insurmountable 10.5 game lead in the division, however, the club’s playoff hopes have been more focused on the Wild Card in recent weeks. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are now six games back of the Braves for the final NL Wild Card spot and would not only need to make up that deficit but also surpass the Cubs, Giants, and Mets in the standings to claim a spot in the postseason.
Much of the club’s struggles this year have been due to an offense that has been rather lackluster this season. The club’s collective wRC+ of 97 is 18th in the majors, down from 13th with a 103 wRC+ when compared to last year’s 91-loss team. Improvements in the club’s rotation have helped to make the club more competitive than they were last year, but improving the starting staff’s collective ERA from 5.08 last year to 4.46 this season has not been enough to overcome the struggles of key offensive players from last year’s club like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Nolan Gorman.
On an offense that’s seen only Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, and Brendan Donovan post numbers more than 5% better than league average by wRC+ among its qualified hitters, it’s hard to overstate the importance of Contreras as a middle-of-the-order power bat for the Cardinals. With the veteran backstop now sidelined for the foreseeable future, the club will now need to hope for improvements from pieces like Arenado and Lars Nootbaar down the stretch to keep what little playoff hopes the club has alive.
They’ll also need young catchers Herrera and Pedro Pages to step up and perform in Contreras’s absence. Pages, 25, has been a suitable back-up for Contreras this year with a .250/.299/.364 slash line that’s good for an 86 wRC+, and his .326/.356/.442 slash line since the All-Star break is encouraging, though it comes in a limited sample size of just 14 games. That leaves Herrera as perhaps the better bet to draw regular starts behind the plate. The 24-year-old youngster has seen action in parts of three big league seasons but got his first extended look earlier this year and performed solidly with a .279/.340/.378 slash line (105 wRC+) and excellent peripheral numbers such as a 9.0% barrel rate that suggest the possibility of positive regression in his future. Herrera has continued to hit quite well since he returned to Triple-A early last month, with a .280/.402/.473 slash line in 112 trips to the plate since being sent back down.
It’s hard to get too upset with such tiny odds to make the playoffs.
Yeah I am basically hoping for a better draft pick at this point.
Sadly They’re toast. I’m hoping for the cardinals to do badly enough for Mo to step down and Marlon be fired.
*Marmol. Thanks spell check
Screw it. Fire Marlon too, whoever he is.
They’re stir fried!
I’m sure STL will find some other excuse to not play Herrera.
I’ve read that the pitchers really like Pages and that’s why Herrera was sent to AAA.
I believe they do like throwing to Pages. Herrera needs to be dealt in the offseason.
Herrera’s arm is pretty bad, he had absolutely zero control over the running game. Derrick Goold reported that he was working on a throwing/arm strengthening program while in AAA, but he’s above beverage everywhere else. His demotion wasn’t entirely his fault though, most cardinals pitchers are just really slow to the plate
Also, he wasn’t demoted exactly. He was hurt and started up play back in AAA. I guess end result is the same, but I wouldn’t consider it a demotion in the same sense of gorman, walker, etc.
I was curious so I looked this up in statheads:
20-19 with Herrera catching
20-19 with Pages catching
24-27 with Contreras catching.
Stan, interesting that their record with each catcher is basically the same, certainly nothing to draw any conclusions from.
Well maybe the proper conclusion is that this may not be as big of a blow as people suggest.
40-50 game samples of starting catchers aren’t much to draw any conclusions from.
If he’s above beverage, he’d better stay hydrated somehow.
Pages got hit in the throat tonight and continued on in the game. Catchers are another species.
Huge difference between getting drilled on soft tissue than bone.
The throat is soft tissue? Are you new to anatomy?
Conteras would be nice at First base he hits good good and would replace goldy
But good good isn’t better than real real good good.
Now “Conteras” will have to wait wait.
The throat contains soft tissue
Can’t help but correct a corrector
The Cubs are a half a freaking game ahead of the Cardinals. Perhaps we don’t let the Cubs fan do articles on the Cardinals next time.
Herrera has been stuck in AAA ready to play so this isn’t a major issue. And the Cardinals are most likely not going to the playoffs anyways.
Triggered much? He’s just stating facts on which teams are objectively ahead of them
He’s a Cubs fan. That’s the truth. I am a Cardinals fan I wouldn’t write an article about the Cubs and pretend my bias wouldn’t show.
No Cubs fans writing articles about the Cardinals. Its that simple.
@Blackpink Nick is a professional journalist. You are not. That’s also the truth. Losing Conteras sucks and diminishes the Cards’ playoffs hopes but quit projecting.
He’s biased because he wrote out the standings? Maybe you’re just a clown?
Hey I have been around since the Brian Roberts days. The site has always been great and the bias doesn’t creep in too often anymore. But Cubs fans shouldn’t do Cardinals articles plain and simple. You wouldn’t want a Red Sox fan writing about the Yankees I guarantee it.
I am also a Cardinals fan who occasionally comments on these articles. Had no idea Nick was a Cubs fan, and certainly not from the text of this article.
You’re projecting. It’s that simple.
@blackpink:
My my, aren’t we getting a little sensitive.
If there is ANY Cardinal fan who has no right to complain about written articles or the comments on them – on this site by opposing fans, it’s you.
Blackpink—here’s what I would do if I were you—since the first of the month is right around a corner, I would write up an invoice and mark it “rent” and send to the MLBTR staff and Cubs fans.
Them living rent free in your head all this time has to be taxing when you could be taking advantage of this situation.
I’ve seen plenty of silly suppositions here, but suggesting that Nick or Tim shouldn’t write an article about the Cardinals is a little odd.
Nick and Tim are Cubs fans. It’s not an opinion it’s a fact. Ask them.
Hey Tim and Nick—we have been told to ask you if you are Cubs fans?
If you are, can you please stop writing such BIASED JIBBERISH as:
“The club dropped to a 64-65 record today that puts them below .500 and in third place in the NL Central behind both the Brewers and Cubs.” Wow, looks biased to me.
Can you please take your slant to mlb.com or espn.com where it’s OK to tell what the standings are?
I don’t recall the outcry when the Cubs passed the Cardinals on Thursday or the dismay you wrote when the Cardinals leapfrogged back over them the next day.
Journalism these days—–I miss the good of days of fake news.
Dude ESPNs bias is a big reason why nobody takes them seriously anymore.
Why do you care so much?
@Blackpink “Why do you care so much?”
————
You’re out here slandering a paid journalist which we all read. I don’t care if you’ve been around since the invention of writing on papyrus. Wrong is wrong. Double-downing and making strawman arguments when being called out for being wrong is embarrassing. Willful ignorance is not a good look. Stop making a joke of yourself and move on.
I didn’t slander anyone you drama queen. I said Cubs fans shouldn’t do Cardinals articles. That’s what I said.
After an epic struggle it appears the Cardinals have caught the Cubs in the standings. Do you believe in miracles?
How’s that bloated Contreras contract feeling now, lol.
The Contreras contract has been a plus for the Cardinals in my opinion.
Bloated contract lol. Contreras has been great he wants to be a Cardinal and plays hard. The team has too many catchers but I wouldn’t get rid of him.
My friends are choosing optimism. I on the other hand have given that up. I never liked the contract. That being said, he’s been a solid hitter, he’s not a good catcher and his playing time is only going to decline as he ages. He will never catch 100 games in a season for the Cards. We’re probably lucky to get 80 going forward. It was a desperate move, but fortunately not as terrible as other contracts have been.
I don’t think it’s nearly as bloated as the terrible Dansby Swanson deal. I don’t think Contreras for $85M was unreasonable. Hard to complain when a dude gets hit by a pitch. Clueless comment. Not like he’s been bad.
Check out the bloated contract Curtis Burnes is about to get. That will be bloated. If your going to pay up for anything it should be a bat. Contreras is a solid catcher too
As noted in the article, the Cardinals are behind the Cubs in the standings. Undeniable, factual reality, regardless of your cool tantrum.
The Cubs were behind the Cardinals in the standings this morning and had been for a long time before today. Literally hours after the Cubs go ahead of the Cardinals in the standings and this CUBS FAN is talking like the Cardinals are chasing the Cubs.
Black pink
As a Cubs fan, I will simply say Cubs and Cardinal fans will both likely be disappointed to see their teams miss the postseason.
The only bias that I have seen with the writers is toward Canada and maybe Australia.
Cubs pitchers did not like throwing to Contreras. I have no idea how Cardinals pitchers feel. I think Burleson should be the Cards 1B next year, but I was curious if Contreras would have the chops for it as well.
Catchers are by far the toughest baseball players, how their bodies survive a whole season is just amazing.
Contreras is a good catcher his defense isn’t great but it isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. I like his attitude he wants to play for St Louis he respects Yadi. The Cardinals are ultra deep at catcher but I am totally happy with Contreras for now. Crooks or Bernal might be better. Herrera isn’t bad but his defense is worse than Contreras for sure.
Blackpink quit being weird. There is no bias shown here. I had no idea this guy is a Cubs fan and it is not apparent by the way he wrote the article.
There is a bias. He is a Cubs fan and so is Tim in case you didn’t know. Perhaps you don’t notice it because you aren’t a Cardinals fan. What I am saying is absolutely true.
Like I told the other guy I have been around since the beginning since the Brian Roberts days. Do you know what I am talking about?
This is better than and Red Sox\Yankee fan tussle. Pass the popcorn!
Willson Contreras leans in and seeks out HBPs, arguably more than anyone in the game.
I think the title belt still belongs to Anthony Rizzo, but Contreras is a serious contender.
Back like I never left!
It’s time to pack it in this season and let the young guys get their reps. They’ll never know what they have if they don’t give out the opportunities. I want to see Koperniak,Prieto, Graceffo and McGreevy again.
Cubs and Cards are close enough to pretend they have a chance for one more week, then, yes, time for the young guys.
Yep time for the young ones for both clubs
Everyone keeps talking about Herrera not being able to control the running game. Every time i follow a Cardinal game on my phone, people are stealing bases right and left on Pages.
If anyone gets thrown out, it’s usually Contreras that guns them down. And that is not very often.
If they are stealing right and left, they are running backwards half of the time.
“The 32-year-old has been among the club’s most reliable hitters this season with an excellent .263/.379/.470 slash line (141 wRC+) this season but has struggled to stay on the field between this latest injury and a broken arm suffered back in May when he was struck with a backswing after St. Louis coaches suggested he move closer to the plate to improve his pitch framing. ”
Dear Nick Deeds, just a couple of suggestions:
1) Use just ONE fact per sentence. You have at least three threads in this bloated sentence.
2) Look up “run-on sentences” in the Littel Book of Gude Riting.
3) Study Ernest Hemingway’s style: Short sentences; to the point and that’s all; devoid of fluff.
“most reliable hitters this season with an excellent .263/.379/.470 slash line”
I have the toughest time thinking anyone is having an excellent season with a .263 average and a .470 slugging. That would be a down year for Ivan Rodriguez or Carlton Fisk. That’s right around Bench’s career average over 17 years.
What happened to players being able to hit .300? 8 players currently hitting .300 or higher right now in the majors.
Look at Vlad Jr’s numbers. .318/ .392/ .555… when was the last time anyone said anything about how great a season he’s having?
When you consider that all MLB hitters this season are averaging .244/.313./.401, Conteras’ slash line is excellent. Hitting above .300 today is an exception. Vlad, Jr. is having a great season for a last place team but pales in comparison to Judge, Soto, Witt, Jr., Henderson, and Ramirez who are on contenders.
Compared to this year… What about compared to history? Why the drop off of batting average? Vlad might get a down vote for MVP, but seems like everything that’s written here says Vlad is having a down year.
1968 (The Year of the Pitcher) only 6 players hit .300 or higher. That offseason the league decided to help the hitters by lowering the mound height. They also enlarged the strike zone.
Sorry, shrank the strike zone… from the arm pits to the letters.
apnews.com/article/mlb-vanishing-offense-allstar-b…
Vlad, Jr. had a slow start to the season and the Blue Jays haven’t been competitive despite him getting hot.
I hate to see Contreras on the IL again. But I try to look at the positive side of things, as this will provide Cardinals management with additional evaluation of Pages and Herrera, as they both will get more playing time and more at bats at the major league level.
Cardinals are 41-38 without Contreras this season; 24-27 with him.
Last season in games he was the starting catcher, 35-56. Without? 36-35.
Its time for a REAL CHANGE for the Cardinals , DeWitt needs to sell the team if hes not gonna spend the money to put a winning team on the field, he is the third or fourth wealthiest owner in the MLB , but does not spend it on the team, he got a bargain when he bought the Team , stadium and the parking garages for 150 Million , he has the nerve to say baseball teams are not money makers, the team is estimated at a worth of 2.5 Billion, I would love that return on my money, enough about the money. Now lets talk about management , MO is washed up and Marmol is an IDIOT, we have coaches that are statistic guys with no major league experience. I don’t know what to think anymore.