Cubs' Willson Contreras Helped off the Field After Suffering Leg Injury

The Chicago Cubs announced catcher Willson Contreras left Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants with a right leg injury.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted Contreras was helped off the field after the setback.

Contreras was attempting to beat out a ground ball and started limping before reaching first base, grabbing his right hamstring in the process. According to Nightengale, Contreras will undergo an MRI Thursday.

The setback comes at a particularly difficult time for the Cubs as they attempt to tread water atop the tight National League Central race. Contreras has carried their offense for extended stretches since the All-Star break, and Major League Baseball just named him the National League Player of the Week.

Contreras posted a .454 batting average, five home runs and 13 RBI during the stretch which earned him the award, cementing himself as a force in the middle of the order.

The one silver lining for Chicago is the fact it traded for veteran backstop Alex Avila in a swap with the Detroit Tigers before the non-waiver trade deadline. While Avila isn't quite the potent bat Contreras is on a daily basis, he slashed .274/.394/.475 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 77 games for Detroit before the trade.

The Cubs can also rely on other power hitters such as Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant to anchor their offense while Contreras is out, but they saw their narrow NL Central lead shrink to one game over the Milwaukee Brewers with Wednesday's loss to San Francisco.

Losing Contreras for significant time in the thick of the pennant race would be a critical blow to the defending World Series champions.