Cardinals' Willson Contreras Moving to OF, DH; Signed $87.5M Contract as Catcher

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confirmed Saturday that catcher Willson Contreras will not be used behind the plate in the coming weeks.

According to MLB.com's John Denton, Marmol said Contreras will be used almost exclusively as a designated hitter in the coming weeks. Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that Contreras could see some time at the corner outfield spots as well.

St. Louis signed Contreras to a five-year, $87.5 million contract during the offseason after he spent the first seven seasons of his career with the rival Chicago Cubs.

In 765 career regular-season games, Contreras has appeared at catcher 653 times, at DH 63 times, in the outfield 39 times, at first base 11 times and at third base twice.

Contreras has not played extensively in the outfield since appearing in 24 games in left field as a rookie in 2016, however.

Contreras has thrown out 29 percent of runners who have attempted to steal against him this season, which is right in line with his career average of 30 percent. He's also allowed just one passed ball.

The Cards pitching staff has struggled, however, ranking 21st in MLB in team ERA at 4.71 and tied for 23rd in walks with 117. St. Louis also owns the worst record in the National League at 10-23.

St. Louis recalled 28-year-old catcher Tres Barrera from Triple-A on Saturday, which was the first sign that the team intended to use Contreras in a different way.

Per Denton, Contreras said he had a video call with legendary Cardinals catcher and future Hall of Fame Yadier Molina this week. Regarding the call, Contreras said: "[Molina] said he was watching the games and he said that we're not executing pitches. I'm not blaming anybody. I'm not pointing fingers at my pitchers because I'm on their side. But we just need to be better executing."

Molina is not blaming Contreras for the Cardinals' shortcomings, nor is Marmol, who said, "One thing I want to make super clear: We're not losing ballgames because Willson Contreras is catching," according to Denton.

Despite that, the Cardinals are going to focus on keeping Contreras' bat in the lineup and will allow Barrera and Andrew Knizner to handle the pitching staff behind the plate.

While Contreras' defense has been called into question, he has remained productive offensively, hitting .280 with two home runs and 14 RBI this season.

The 2016 World Series champion is a three-time All-Star thanks largely to his offensive prowess, as he has hit at least 20 home runs in a season four times, including 21 in 2021 and 22 last season.

Contreras is in the lineup batting third at designated hitter for the Cardinals' home game against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.