Willson Contreras is Signing With the St. Louis Cardinals

Well, this one definitely sucks. Cubs fans knew Willson Contreras was going to be headed somewhere else this offseason and we knew this destination was a possibility. Now, it's a reality.

Contreras is signing a free agent deal with the hated St. Louis Cardinals.

According to Jon Morosi, Contreras is going to the Cardinals on a five-year contract.

And oh boy did Willson get PAID!

Get that money!

In 2022, Contreras slashed .243/.349/.466, and hit 22 home runs in 487 plate appearances. He was the best hitter on the Cubs, posting a 132 wRC+ in 113 games.

This one definitely stings mostly because Contreras is going to the Cardinals. The Cubs offense just got worse and in turn the Cardinals offense got better with Contreras. He always played with passion, which is something Cubs fans have appreciated since he made his MLB debut in 2016. Contreras, 30, has spent nearly half his life in the Cubs organization, signing out of Venezuela as a teenager in 2009.

HOWEVA!

As much as I love Contreras, there is no denying that his skills behind the plate haven't improved enough over the years and you could argue his defense, pitch calling and framing has hurt the Cubs pitching staff. Beginning in 2022, the Cubs had already started to move Contreras away from catching, deploying him as the designated hitter in 39 games. Contreras only started 72 games behind the plate this past season, the lowest amount since his rookie season when he was called up in the middle of the year.

So the Cubs are obviously shifting their focus to having a better defensive catcher and that's why they've been interested in free agent Christian Vázquez.

And again, don't get me wrong, Contreras to the Cardinals does make them better and the Cubs worse. However, I'd rather the Cardinals have this outcome than say trading for Sean Murphy OR maybe this deal will now prevent St. Louis from pursuing one of the remaining free agent shortstops.

In seven seasons with the Cubs, Contreras made three All-Star teams, starting back-to-back years for the National League in 2018 and 2019, and again in 2022. He is coming off the best year of his career and you could point to fewer starts at catcher helping him stay stronger throughout the season as a big reason for it.

Contreras has been a consistent hitter throughout his career, really only struggling for an extended period of time in the second half of 2018 and during the 2020 shortened season. He carries a career 118 wRC+ and is projected to match that number in 2023.