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Willson Contreras

MLB Announces 2022 All-Star Starters

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Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2022 All-Star Game this evening. The starting lineups are determined by fan vote. This year’s All-Star Game will take place at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, July 19. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.

American League

National League

Mets Have Interest In Nelson Cruz

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The Mets are among the teams with interest in Nationals slugger Nelson Cruz, reports the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

At this stage of his career, Cruz is strictly a designated hitter. Apart from one game at first base with the Rays in 2021, he hasn’t played the field since 2018. The Mets have frequently used their DH slot to give their regulars a half-day off, though the closest things they have to regular designated hitters are J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith. Both players have shown offensive prowess in the past but are having down years so far in 2022, making it fairly logical that the Mets would be thinking about upgrades.

Through 128 plate appearances coming into tonight, Smith is hitting .221/.297/.327 for a wRC+ of 83, a far cry from the 134 he put up in 2019 and the 166 during the shortened 2020 campaign. It’s a second straight season of diminished production for Smith, as he also put up a line of .244/.304/.363 last year, 86 wRC+. As for Davis, he had a wRC+ between 118 and 137 in the previous three seasons but is down to 98 this year, with a line of .240/.328/.338 coming into tonight’s action. There’s a bit more reason for optimism in the case of Davis, as he’s still hitting the ball hard. Statcast gives him good marks on basically every batted ball metric, including placing him in the 98th percentile in terms of average exit velocity. However, it seems the Mets are willing to look outside the organization to consider a change.

The Nationals underwent a big roster teardown last year, trading away many of their best players for prospects. In the offseason, they signed a number of veterans to one-year deals, with Cruz getting the largest and the most notable of the contracts. With the club knowing they were entering a noncompetitive rebuild year, his $15MM deal was clearly designed with a midseason trade in mind. As expected, the club is currently sporting a recording of 30-55, the second-worst in the National League.

However, Cruz isn’t exactly holding up his end of the bargain, as he’s hitting just .241/.322/.369 for a wRC+ of 94. That’s fairly similar to the production he put up with the Rays after last year’s midseason trade from the Twins. His batting line in a Rays’ uniform last year was .226/.283/.442, 96 wRC+. That means it’s been almost a full season’s worth of below average offensive production for the 42-year-old.

It’s still likely that some team takes a shot on Cruz based on his track record, but it’s unlikely the Nats will get the huge return they may have envisioned. Last year, the Twins sent Cruz and Calvin Faucher to the Rays in exchange for Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman. That deal seems to have worked out very well for the Twins, with Ryan emerging as a key piece of their rotation, though Strotman is struggling in the minors. Cruz was hitting .294/.370/.537 at the time of the deal for a wRC+ of 141, which surely helped the Twins net a return that the Nats are unlikely to match.

Since the Nats are so far out of contention and Cruz is heading back into free agency at season’s end, it’s likely that they will take the best prospect package they can find. That means it’s unlikely the Mets and Nats make perfect trading partners, as Heyman’s report notes that the Mets hope to hang onto all of their top prospects. This lines up with reporting from Bob Nightengale of USA Today from a few days ago, which suggested the Mets would prefer to take on large contracts as opposed to giving up important young players. That would seem to suggest the two clubs have misaligned priorities, though it’s possible the Nats aren’t able to get top prospects from any team, based on Cruz’s diminished production over the past year. Heyman adds this lack of willingness to deal top prospects makes it unlikely the Mets land either Josh Bell or Willson Contreras, but makes Cruz and Trey Mancini better fits. The Mets’ interest in Mancini was reported last week.

Given the rebuild, the Nats’ payroll is the lowest it’s been in about a decade, outside the shortened 2020 campaign, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That presumably means they don’t need to move Cruz just for financial reasons. For their part, the Mets are right up against the new fourth luxury tax line of $290MM. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates that the Mets have already surpassed the line, calculating their luxury tax number to be $290.1MM. The aggressive spending has worked out for them thus far, as they are currently 51-31, trailing only the Dodgers among NL teams and giving them a 2 1/2 game lead over Atlanta in the East. They will surely look to be aggressive between now and the August 2 trade deadline in order to supplement their roster for a postseason run.

Looking For A Match In A Willson Contreras Trade

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This year’s Aug. 2 trade deadline is just over seven weeks away, and while some names won’t become obvious candidates to move until five or even six weeks from now, others have been evident for more than a year. That’s more true of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras than arguably any player in baseball. There may not be a likelier player to get traded this summer, and the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. The Cubs looked like probable deadline sellers heading into the 2021 season, and Contreras’ fate looked clear when Chicago sold off Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, among others. Some fans might’ve held out hope for an extension that would make Contreras the centerpiece of the next contending Cubs core, but no long-term deal came to fruition.

From both the player and team vantage point, Contreras’ current career year has come at the perfect time. He’s hitting .267/.394/.506 with 10 home runs, 10 doubles and a triple through 213 trips to the plate. By measure of wRC+, the only catcher who’s been more productive (min. 100 plate appearances) is Willson’s own brother, William, who is having a breakout campaign over in Atlanta. Willson’s 10 homers are tops among catchers, and he’s on pace for career-highs in several offensive categories. A pending free agent couldn’t ask for a much better walk year, and the Cubs have to be thrilled to see him producing like this at a time when league-wide catcher offense hasn’t been this bad since 2002.

Contreras has acknowledged that a trade appears to be his likely fate at this point, and it’s more a question of when and where than whether it’ll happen at all. Since a trade feels far likelier than not, let’s take some time and run through the possible landing spots for Contreras over the next several weeks.

Obvious Fits

Astros: The only team in Major League Baseball that has gotten worse production from behind the plate is the Orioles, who entered the year trying to lose and have since watched their top prospect struggle upon his initial call to the big leagues. Martin Maldonado has posted an awful .153/.225/.277 batting line, while backup Jason Castro has somehow been even worse at .102/.206/.136. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote this week that the Astros will likely stick with Maldonado despite the complete lack of offense, declining framing marks and increasingly frequent passed balls. The rationale appears to be that Maldonado’s leadership and game-planning skills are too valuable.

That piece, however, did not acknowledge the possibility that the Astros can still go ahead and acquire Contreras, pushing Maldonado to a backup role and jettisoning Castro from the roster. There’s no justification for a supposed World Series hopeful to trot out a pair of catchers that has combined to hit .141/.221/.241 this season. Houston has other needs, be they in center field or at first base where Yuli Gurriel’s bat has cratered, but Astros catchers have been 63% worse than league-average at the plate (by measure of wRC+). Whatever intangible value Maldonado may be providing with his game-planning, he’s giving a lot of it back at the dish. And, again, it’s eminently possible to keep Maldonado on the roster and still install Contreras as the everyday catcher.

Mets: James McCann hasn’t lived up to his four-year, $40.6MM contract in the first place, and he’s currently on the injured list for the foreseeable future owing to a fractured hamate bone that’ll sideline him into July. McCann should be back in action by the time the trade deadline rolls around, but he’s hitting just .196/.266/.286 on the season anyhow and hamate injuries can have lingering effects on a hitter’s production even after they’re cleared to return.

It’s in the Mets’ best interest to get McCann sorted out at some point, but they have two years left to figure that out (or to find a way to unload the contract). Backups Tomas Nido (.245/.277/.274) and Patrick Mazeika (.186/.205/.326) haven’t provided any offense whatsoever in McCann’s absence. Taking on Contreras pushes McCann to a backup role and deepens the lineup considerably — both this summer as the Braves continue to heat up and climb in the standings and in the postseason, when they’ll be facing off against better pitching than they see during the regular season.

Giants: Buster Posey abruptly retired following a resurgent 2021 season, and former No. 2 overall pick Joey Bart hasn’t been able to seize the opportunity as the Giants’ new starter just yet. Optioned to Triple-A last after hitting .156/.296/.300 through 108 plate appearances, Bart could still eventually sort things out and solidify himself as the Giants’ catcher of the future. For now, however, they’re relying on career backup Curt Casali and journeyman Austin Wynns, whom they acquired from the Phillies last week.

The Giants are a deep-pocketed club with a $162MM payroll that’s nowhere near their franchise record and an improved farm system. General manager Scott Harris, formerly an assistant general manager with the Cubs, is plenty familiar with Contreras and all he can bring to the table.

Payroll Concerns

Rays: Only a hair better than the Astros in terms of their overall production, Tampa Bay catchers are batting a combined .169/.195/.305 this season. Mike Zunino’s defense remains highly regarded, but he’s having the worst season of his career at the plate (.148/.195/.304). Backup Francisco Mejia has been a bit better at the plate but much worse behind it.

It’s an open question as to whether the Rays, whose current $83MM payroll sadly constitutes a franchise-record mark, would receive ownership support to take on Contreras and the remainder of his salary. The Cubs could perhaps be persuaded to include some cash to cover some or all of the salary, but doing so on their end would require the Rays to part with a steeper prospect package. The Rays, as always, have a deep system and could afford to make such a move. Perhaps they could sell the Cubs on taking back the remainder of the recently optioned Ryan Yarbrough’s $3.85MM salary to help balance things out a bit. (Chicago could certainly use some more pitching depth.) Specific names aside, there aren’t many more obvious fits for Contreras than Tampa Bay.

Padres: Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro have combined to bat .239/.298/.326 while logging every inning for the Padres at catcher this season. San Diego has top catching prospect Luis Campusano hitting well in Triple-A, so perhaps the most straightforward path to an upgrade is simply to promote him to the big league roster.

That, paired with the fact that the Friars are just inches below the new $230MM luxury-tax threshold, makes them a tough fit. There’s a clear on-paper need for the Padres to improve their production behind the dish, but the also have needs in the outfield corners and/or at first base, and the bandwidth to take on Contreras doesn’t seem to be there. The Cubs aren’t going to take on Eric Hosmer or another weighty contract in a deal like this, and asking Chicago to pick up all of the remaining tab on Contreras would only up the price.

Guardians: Austin Hedges is one of the best defensive players in baseball, regardless of position … but one of the sport’s worst hitters as well. Maybe Cleveland simply wouldn’t be interested in displacing Hedges and his potential Gold Glove, but it’s hard to look at his .175/.233/.283 batting line and not wonder how the Guardians’ lineup would look upon swapping that out for Contreras and his aforementioned .267/.394/.506 slash. And, as with the Astros, the Guards could certainly keep Hedges as a defensive-minded backup, pushing Bryan Lavastida back to Triple-A and probably pushing Luke Maile off the roster.

Cleveland’s payroll is just under $70MM right now, and one would think that leaves more than enough room to add veterans at the deadline. But payroll has been a major issue in recent seasons, and it’s not clear whether they’ll be close enough to a playoff spot to make a move like this — or whether they’d be willing to part with long-term value for a rental who’d immediately be their second-highest-paid player.

Wait and See

Yankees: The Yankees have received surprising production from trade acquisition Jose Trevino, who’s batted .309/.356/.505 and already matched his career-high five home runs in just 104 plate appearances. Trevino came to the Yankees as a lifetime .245/.270/.364 hitter, however, so it’s fair to be a bit skeptical of his ability to sustain this pace. He’s not striking out much but also isn’t making much in the way of hard contact, either. The trade deadline is still six weeks out, and if Trevino regresses toward his career levels of production, then the Yankees figure to be in this market, particularly with Kyle Higashioka again struggling at the plate.

Mariners: Seattle was getting career-best production from Tom Murphy before he landed on the injured list with a dislocated shoulder. He’s since suffered a setback, and it’s not clear when he’ll be ready to return. Prospect Cal Raleigh is doing his best Zunino impression in place of Murphy, striking out in a third of his plate appearances while showing good power and strong defensive marks. Raleigh, 25, has a .168/.252/.411 batting line with seven long balls in 107 plate appearances. If he can find some more consistency and/or if Murphy can get on track for a return, the Mariners might not feel the need to make this type of move. Beyond that, the M’s have cooled after a hot start and are 4.5 games back from a Wild Card position and six games under .500. They’re close enough to act as buyers right now, but that outlook could change in the coming weeks.

Marlins: Miami hoped to have addressed its catching need this winter when acquiring Jacob Stallings, but he’s hitting .206/.271/.255 in his first season with the Fish. Even more problematic is the team’s overall performance against southpaws: an MLB-worst .205/.280/.315. The Marlins are a fringe contender at the moment and probably have bigger needs even if they were to make a push at the deadline.

Longer Shots

White Sox: The Sox are already paying Yasmani Grandal $18.25MM, and while the resulting .185/.294/.237 batting line can’t sit well with the organization, there’s no indication to this point that they’re prepared to take on a notable veteran like Contreras and push Grandal into the role of MLB’s highest-paid backup. It’d be interesting to see another chapter entered into the story of crosstown Chicago blockbusters, though. The Sox didn’t get what they were hoping for when acquiring Craig Kimbrel last summer, but the prior North Side/South Side swap sent Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to the Sox for Jose Quintana.

Twins: Minnesota’s focus at the trade deadline is going to rightly be pitching help — both in the bullpen and in the rotation — but their catchers have been a middle-of-the-pack unit, at best. Gary Sanchez leads the team in plate appearances at designated hitter and has hit better as a DH than as a catcher. But the Twins feel he’s been better than his reputation with the glove, and they’ve used the DH spot as a means of giving several players off — including Byron Buxton. Sure, the lineup would be deeper and better with Contreras catching, Sanchez at DH and Ryan Jeffers as a backup catcher, but this isn’t going to be a priority.

Red Sox: Christian Vazquez has posted a solid, if unremarkable .271/.315/.374 batting line in 168 plate appearances this season, but neither of Boston’s backup options (Kevin Plawecki, Connor Wong) have provided any offense at all. This doesn’t feel all that likely, as Boston probably has bigger needs to consider when the deadline rolls around — assuming they hang onto (or remain within striking distance of) their current No. 3 Wild Card spot in the American League.

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Contreras has been the best all-around catcher in baseball this offseason, so you could make the argument that he can/should be shoehorned into just about any contender or fringe contender’s lineup. But when looking at the combination of legitimate playoff chances, pure need behind the plate and realistic ability to facilitate a trade of this nature (based on luxury tax, farm system, payroll), it’s hard to look past the Astros, Mets, Rays and Giants as the best fits for a short-term splash behind the plate.

Cubs, Willson Contreras Avoid Arbitration

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The Cubs and catcher Willson Contreras have avoided arbitration, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN (Twitter link). The sides came to terms on a $9.625MM salary, agreeing to the exact midpoint between their respective $10.25MM and $9MM filing figures.

The agreement doesn’t have any long-term contractual ramifications, but they’ll avoid the hassle and any potential acrimony of going through a hearing — which had been scheduled for today. This is the final trip through the arb process for Contreras, who is scheduled to reach free agency for the first time at the end of the season.

The 30-year-old looks like the clear top option among a deep catching class, and he’s continued to improve his stock with an incredible first couple months of the season. Contreras owns a .277/.403/.530 line with ten home runs through 201 plate appearances, sporting career-best marks in both walk (11.9%) and strikeout (19.9%) rate in the process. He leads catchers (minimum 100 trips to the plate) in wRC+ with a 162 mark that indicates he’s been 62 percentage points better than the average batter thus far.

Not only is that hot start setting up a likely lucrative free agent payday, it also makes him one of the most interesting players to follow over the next six-to-eight weeks. The Cubs are ten games below .500 and a virtual lock to miss the postseason, making Contreras one of the game’s bigger potential deadline trade chips. Last month, he told Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago he’d not heard any extension overtures from the front office. That’d seem to point towards a trade being the likelier outcome, although the career-long Cub has consistently maintained he’d be open to in-season discussions if the front office initiates talks.

The agreement closes the books on a light arbitration class for the North Siders. Outfielder Ian Happ was the only other arbitration-eligible player on the roster, and he and the organization agreed to a $6.85MM salary during Spring Training. Happ, himself a possible midseason trade candidate, will go through the process once more before reaching free agency after the 2023 campaign.

Cubs Select P.J. Higgins, Designate Ildemaro Vargas

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The Cubs have selected the contract of catcher P.J. Higgins, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. In a corresponding move, utility player Ildemaro Vargas has been designated for assignment.

Higgins, 29, was a 12th round selection of the Cubs in the 2015 draft, who worked his way up to make his big league debut last year. Unfortunately, after just nine games in the majors, he landed on the injured list with a forearm strain which ultimately required surgery and finished his season. He was outrighted in the offseason and became a free agent, but quickly re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal. He’s evidently put the injury behind him, as he’s off to a scorching hot start this year. In 22 Triple-A games so far, he’s hitting .417/.500/.569, 193 wRC+.

The Cubs needed to add a catcher to the roster due to Willson Contreras suffering a hamstring injury yesterday. That injury doesn’t seem to be serious enough for a stint on the injured list, though Higgins will combine with Yan Gomes as the club’s catching duo until Contreras is ready to return to game action.

As for Vargas, he’s never hit much in the big leagues, as evidenced by his batting line of .227/.265/.354, 60 wRC+ over 186 career games. However, he’s often proved alluring to teams due to his extreme versatility, seeing time with the Diamondbacks, Twins, Pirates and Cubs. In addition to being a switch-hitter, he’s also slotted into the defensive alignment at every spot on the diamond outside of center field and the battery. In ten games with the Cubs this year, he’s hit .130/.231/.348 for a wRC+ of 64 while playing second base and shortstop. The Cubs will have a week to trade him or put him on waivers. If he were to clear, he would have the ability to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, as he’s been previously outrighted in his career.

Willson Contreras Leaves Game With Right Hamstring Tightness

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Cubs catcher Willson Contreras made an early exit from today’s game due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness.  The injury occurred in the third inning, as after Contreras had singled and then stolen second base, he bolted for third on what ended up being a foul ball from Seiya Suzuki.  The catcher immediately grabbed at his right hamstring and, following a visit from the team trainer, left the game.

Afterwards, manager David Ross told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters that “there’s definitely something going on,” with Contreras’ hamstring, and that “we’ll find out how extensive” after some tests. 

At the very least, it would seem like Contreras will miss a game or two to monitor his leg problem.  The Cubs’ next off-day is on May 27, so it’s at least possible the team might keep Contreras out of action (but not on the injured list) until then to see if a full 10-day IL stint could be avoided, though that would require Chicago to call another catcher up from the minors.

If an IL trip is required, Contreras and the Cubs can only hope that it’s a relatively short absence.  The veteran backstop is off to a great start, hitting .258/.382/.458 with five home runs over his first 144 plate appearances.  That would make for a career year for Contreras if he keeps hitting at that pace, and it would set him up nicely for a big contract this winter as the 30-year-old is eligible for free agency.

Missing several weeks or even months due to a hamstring injury would hamper Contreras’ ability to score top dollar on the open market, though given his track record, Contreras would still likely land a healthy contract even if his platform year is less than stellar.  However, missing a lot of time prior to the trade deadline would certainly hurt or even erase the Cubs’ chance of a good return for the catcher, as trade rumors have swirled around Contreras for well over a year.  One of the few Cubs veterans remaining after last summer’s deadline fire sale, Contreras recently said he hasn’t heard anything from the team about a possible contract extension.

Cubs Notes: Contreras, Heuer, Howard

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Catcher Willson Contreras is potentially reaching the end of his time with the Cubs, the only organization he’s ever known. He’s about five months away from becoming a free agent and is also an obvious trade candidate, meaning he could depart before this year’s August 2 trade deadline. He’s open to stick around via a contract extension but apparently isn’t hearing anything from the front office, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer wasn’t any less withholding when speaking to the media, as Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic relays that he avoided answering a question about the extension situation.

The Cubs did this extend-or-trade dance last year with Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez, with all three of them eventually getting dealt before the deadline. Whether Contreras ends up following the same trajectory or not, he doesn’t seem fazed by it. “I’m just focused on doing the best for this team, finding the best way to help the team, and whatever happens in the middle of the season is going to happen,” Contreras said. I’m at peace with myself. I’m at peace with my mind. And whatever happens, even during the season or after the season, is going to be fine with me.”

Contreras is on pace to have his best season yet, as he’s hitting .263/.391/.474 through 32 games. That amounts to a wRC+ of 150, easily topping his previous high of 126. That will only add to his appeal on the trade market this summer. With the Cubs sporting a 15-22 record, they’re certainly leaning towards deadline sellers for the time being. The fact that they signed Yan Gomes to a two-year deal in the offseason only increases the odds of Contreras ending up changing jerseys in the coming months. As the catcher himself put it, “The trade rumors, they’re going to come.”

As for other members of the team, Codi Heuer tells Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s expecting to be out of action until June or July of next year. The 25-year-old righty underwent Tommy John surgery in March, just before the end of the lockout. That puts his recovery right in the usual 12-18 month timeline that is customary for such situations. Acquired from the White Sox as part of the Craig Kimbrel deal, the righty had exactly two years of service time coming into this season, meaning he’ll have exactly three years going into the winter, qualifying him for arbitration for the first time.

Another player in the organization facing an extended absence is prospect Ed Howard, who recently underwent hip surgery following an injury last week. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic relays that the organization is hoping Howard can return by Spring Training next year. “The early prognosis has looked good as far as the comeback,” Hoyer said. “But that’s going to be a comeback after a lot of rehab and a lot of time. I know he’s in good spirits. But he’s got a real road ahead of him and you feel for him.” The 16th overall selection of the 2020 draft, Howard is considered the #8 Cubs prospect by FanGraphs and #20 by Baseball America. This significant injury absence will delay his progress towards the major leagues, though Hoyer says he is expected to make a full recovery.

NL Central Notes: Pirates, Nutting, Crowe, Contreras

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Shortly after signing third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year $70MM extension, Pirates owner Bob Nutting spoke to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the team’s plans moving forward. After applauding the work done by third-year GM Ben Cherington to rebuild the team’s talent pipeline, Nutting stated his belief “that we’ve rebuilt that foundation to the point that now we can really focus on the major league club.” That’s surely welcome news for Pittsburgh fans, who have sat through an arduous rebuilding process that’s included three consecutive fifth place finishes and a bottom-three payroll entering the 2022 season (per Cot’s Contracts).

Of further note, Nutting spoke of the need to look internally and pick “a few key building blocks […] to start building here in Pittsburgh.” It’s already known that the team tried to extend All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds prior to the 2021 season, and have since settled on an arbitration-avoiding pact with the 27-year-old earlier today. Still, with Hayes locked up through his prime years and extensions on the front office’s mind they’ll be hard-pressed to find a better building block than Reynolds. Whether further extension talks take place with Reynolds or other “building blocks”— Mackey suggests breakout reliever David Bednar as one option— remains to be seen, it’s clear the franchise is ready to pivot and secure a division title for the first time since 1992.

Some other news of note from the NL’s central division…

  • We’re only a few games into the new season but the Pirates feel they may have another breakout reliever on their hands, reports Kevin Gorman of Tribune-ReviewSports. After picking up a three-inning save yesterday, the first of his career, converted-starter Wil Crowe extended his streak to seven scoreless innings to open the season. Small sample size caveats are abound here, but it’s clear that the headlining return from 2020’s Josh Bell trade has seen his stuff play up out of the bullpen. After posting a 5.48 ERA across 26 games (25 starts) with below average strikeout numbers last year, Crowe has upped his swinging strike rate and ranks among the early leaders in avoiding hard contact this season.
  • The Cubs and catcher Willson Contreras remain far apart in arbitration talks and it doesn’t appear an agreement will be reached without an arbiter, per NBC Sports’ Gordon Wittenmyer. While a few months remain for both sides to settle on a midpoint between their exchanged figures— Contreras filed at $10.25MM while the Cubs put forth a $9MM offer— a tidy resolution never seemed likely between the club and one of the last members of their 2016 World Series-winning core. The Cubs are a file-and-trial club and take a hard stance on discussing arbitration salaries after the figure-exchanging deadline (this year’s deadline was March 22). When asked if the club would make an exception for Contreras, given his reputation on the team and as one of the league’s better hitting catchers, team president Jed Hoyer replied “That’s not our policy. We went past the deadline.” For his part, Contreras doesn’t seem too bothered by the prospect of an arbitration hearing, noting that he’s “been going through a lot of [criticism] since I was in the minor leagues, and everything they have to say I’ve already heard it”. The 29-year-old Contreras is set to headline a decent free agent catcher market after the season, and while he hasn’t closed the window on lengthening his Cubs tenure he did note his chances of remaining with the team may take a hit once the Cubs allow him to test the market. The two-time All-Star also drew trade interest over the offseason, which may eventually expedite the catcher’s exit from his original organization.

Latest On Willson Contreras

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The Cubs have overhauled a good portion of their roster this winter. Among the most impactful moves was bringing in veteran backstop Yan Gomes — the top catcher in this year’s free agent crop — on a two-year deal prior to the lockout.

That has naturally led to some trade speculation regarding incumbent catcher Willson Contreras, who’s entering his final year of club control. There hasn’t been much firm indication the Cubs have shopped the 29-year-old this winter, but they’d also yet to open talks regarding a possible long-term extension with his representatives as of last week.

Speaking with Bruce Levine of 670 The Score over the weekend, an emotional Contreras acknowledged the possibility he could either be dealt or depart the organization via free agency next winter. “This is something that is really tough for me,” the two-time All-Star said. “Personally, the relationships I have with the team, players and fans, (leaving would) be something that will be really tough to take. This is something very emotional for me, knowing all that I have had to go through to get to this point. It’s going to be really tough and very emotional.”

Levine reports that the Yankees and Padres are among the teams that have checked in with the Cubs to gauge Contreras’ availability, although it’s not clear if any discussions are currently ongoing. Chicago certainly doesn’t have to trade the right-handed backstop, as the implementation of the universal designated hitter could allow manager David Ross to pencil both him and Gomes into the lineup on a regular basis. The Cubs’ fairly active offseason suggests they’re not punting the 2022 campaign entirely, and keeping both players would give the team enviable depth behind the dish and the opportunity to lengthen the overall lineup.

That said, one could argue that having Contreras and Gomes as a 1A/1B tandem between catcher and designated hitter isn’t an optimal deployment of those players. Both are good hitters for catchers, but neither has the kind of offensive track record that’d make them great fits as regular options at the DH spot. Contreras is the better offensive player of the duo, but even he falls a bit shy of the typical output expected from the bat-only position.

Contreras has been an above-average hitter by measure of wRC+ in each of his six career seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, he owns a .239/.345/.429 line, numbers that check in nine percentage points above the league average. That’s markedly better than the .230/.307/.392 figure put up by catchers around the league, but it’s not elite middle-of-the-order output overall. Most American League teams have increasingly preferred to cycle various regulars through the DH spot as quasi-rest days unless they have an excellent bat-only player to plug in. Just seven hitters tallied 300+ plate appearances as a DH last year; of that group, only Miguel Cabrera didn’t outhit Contreras.

While he might not be a great fit for semi-regular DH time, Contreras should hold plenty of appeal to catching-needy teams. The Yankees make an unsurprising possibility after trading away Gary Sánchez. New York is presently slated to roll with Kyle Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt behind the dish. That duo figures to be capable defensively but doesn’t seem likely to come close to Contreras’ production at the plate.

The Padres making a run would be more surprising, as San Diego already has something of a logjam at catcher. Contreras’ price tag could also prove problematic for the Friars. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an $8.7MM salary in his final year of arbitration. That’d come with a matching luxury tax hit, and the Padres already have around $224MM in CBT commitments, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Acquiring Contreras would push the Friars right up against or perhaps past the $230MM base tax threshold, and Dennis Lin of the Athletic wrote last week the club would prefer to not surpass the CBT marker for the second straight season.

Aside from Contreras, there don’t seem to be many options for teams looking to upgrade behind the plate before the start of the season. Almost all the free agent options at the position have been signed, and there aren’t any other teams who seem likely to make regulars available in trade. The A’s might entertain the possibility of moving Sean Murphy, but that seems unlikely since he has yet to even reach arbitration eligibility. The trade market may just consist of depth types like Reese McGuire and Jorge Alfaro if the Cubs elect to hold onto Contreras.

Contreras: No Extension Talks Yet With Cubs

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The Cubs have a decision to make regarding Willson Contreras, who’s heading into his final season of club control. Contreras is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for an arbitration salary in the $8.7MM range this year. Amidst an organizational reboot, the Chicago front office finds themselves in something of an awkward spot with their longtime catcher.

Chicago signed Yan Gomes, perhaps the best catcher in this year’s free agent class, to a two-year contract in November. That seemed to position Contreras as one of the likeliest trade candidates around the league on-paper, but there’s been no real indication the Cubs have shopped him. That could indicate they’re not looking to move on from Contreras, although they’ve also not yet broached the topic of extending the relationship.

Speaking with reporters (including Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic) yesterday, the 29-year-old backstop said the organization and his reps at Octagon haven’t discussed a potential long-term deal. “No, there haven’t been any talks. I’m good with it” he said. “They know what they’re doing, they know what’s best for the team. I’m here because I love my team. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen.” Contreras went on to indicate he’d be willing to have those discussions. “I’m always open. You know me, I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on having a good year, having fun with my team and trying to win.”

The Cubs stripped down a good portion of the 2016 World Series winning club at last summer’s trade deadline, moving Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez. Those departures kicked off what one might consider a new era of Cubs baseball, but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer maintained there were no plans for a full rebuild. Hoyer, GM Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office have largely backed up those assertions this winter. In addition to Gomes, they also signed Marcus Stroman to a three-year deal, added Andrelton Simmons on a one-year pact and claimed Wade Miley off waivers. They don’t seem done, as Hoyer told reporters (including Jesse Rogers of ESPN) this morning they’re still on the hunt for pitching help.

Even in the event the Cubs are trying to hang around the periphery of contention this season, there’s a case to be made for moving Contreras. Gomes is a capable #1 catcher in his own right; getting both players regular reps probably involves Contreras seeing a lot of time at designated hitter. He’s a good hitter, particularly in comparison to his peers at catcher, but he’s not the kind of elite bat for whom teams have been inclined to set aside the DH role.

Contreras has been an above-average hitter by measure of wRC+ in each of his six career seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, he owns a .239/.345/.429 line, numbers that check in nine percentage points above the league average. That’s markedly better than the .230/.307/.392 figure put up by catchers around the league, but it’s not elite middle-of-the-order output overall. Defensively, Contreras has typically been adept at throwing out attempted base-stealers, although he struggled in that regard last season. His pitch framing metrics, per Statcast, have checked in right around the league average over the past two years after he struggled mightily in that regard early in his career.

All told, the Cubs have to decide whether they view Contreras as a potential long-term building block. Recent free agent pickups notwithstanding, they’ve pared back payroll over the past twelve months. With only around $72MM in guaranteed commitments on the books in 2023 (per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource), the flexibility should be there for Chicago if they want to make a run at an extension.

Yet if the Gomes signing signaled a changing of the guard behind the plate on the North Side, Contreras could find himself switching uniforms over the coming weeks. If he doesn’t sign an extension, he’d be on track to hit free agency as one of next winter’s top available catchers — part of a group that could also include Gary Sánchez, Mike Zunino, Christian Vázquez and Max Stassi.

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