Cardinals' Willson Contreras to Have Surgery on Fractured Arm Injury, Out 6-8 Weeks

The St. Louis Cardinals announced that catcher Willson Contreras suffered a left arm fracture after being struck by New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez's bat on a swing.

Contreras is set to undergo surgery on his fractured arm, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo. He was given an initial six-to-eight week recovery timeline.

The ailment occurred in the top of the second inning with the Cardinals up 3-0. Martinez swung and missed on a Miles Mikolas slider but accidentally hit Contreras, who was called for catcher's interference.

John Denton of MLB.com offered more insight.

"In an attempt to help catcher Willson Contreras get more low strikes, the Cardinals have him moved up closer to the plate," Denton wrote.

"However, JD Martinez's bat hit Contreras on the left forearm during his swing. Contreras is out of the game. He was in obvious pain, yelling out right away."

Iván Herrera replaced Contreras in the lineup.

The 31-year-old Contreras has been the Cardinals' best hitter this season, entering Tuesday with a .280 average, .949 OPS, six home runs and 12 RBI.

The Cardinals have hit rock bottom over the last year-and-change. In 2023, St. Louis went 71-91 en route to its first last place finish since 1990, with a struggling pitching staff largely being the culprit. Now the Cardinals are back in last again with a 15-20 record entering Tuesday. This time around, the offense has been in shambles, with the team sitting last in the National League in runs.

Contreras has been one of the team's few bright lights this year and arguably the only one at all in the batting lineup. Now a dire season gets even bleaker in St. Louis, which is spiraling toward another lost campaign.

Without Contreras for the foreseeable future, Herrera is the next backstop on the depth chart. The 23-year-old entered Tuesday with a .215 average (.633 OPS), three home runs and 11 RBI.