Milwaukee Brewers fans are currently enjoying the turmoil surrounding their National League Central Rival in the St. Louis Cardinals. The Red Birds are currently 10-24 to begin the 2023 season. This record is not only the worst within the division, but the entire National League as well.
One area that the Cardinals have struggled in is pitching. Their starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 5.44 (seventh worst in the league) and all together the team ERA is 4.70 (10th worst in the league). This is St. Louis’s first year without catcher Yadier Molina and during the offseason they passed the reigns over to Willson Contreras by signing him to a massive five year, $87.5 million deal.
According to Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, he believes that Willson Contreras is contributing to some of the pitching staff struggles. As a result he announced that they are moving him out of his typical catcher position and will instead have him get at-bats as the designated hitter and play in the outfield.
Oliver Marmol’s full quote on the situation was, “It allows for some familiarity behind the plate with our [pitching] guys, which I think will help, especially with the state that we’re in, because at the end of the day, we need to start winning ballgames. Some familiarity with our pitchers and our bullpen [with Knizner catching] allows for that.”
Willson Contreras took to the press after the announcement and he announced that he reached out to Yadier Molina and they came to the conclusion of that their pitching staff was not executing pitches. Contreras went on to say, “I’m not blaming anybody and I’m not pointing fingers at my pitchers because I’m on their side. But we need to be better at executing pitches with two strikes.”
Milwaukee Brewer fans react to the massive news regarding Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals.
https://t.co/tC8AH5Tmvv pic.twitter.com/xJJ2hMhU06
— WI Sports John (@BrewersRaptor) May 6, 2023
He’s not even the best Contreras brother
— Benny Biceps (Chaim Cook Szn baby) (@SimpMasterBenny) May 6, 2023
I think this is a sign of desperation for the cardinals. Worst record in NL. They’re just trying anything at this point but crazy that the team who had so much young OF talent has to stick their catcher out there in May 🤷♂️ https://t.co/q2aiupgwGm
— Ryan (@BrewPackOnYT) May 6, 2023
The “Willson Contreras as the next franchise catcher” experiment lasted an entirety of… *checks notes* 1 month. He signed a 5 year contract. 😬😬😬 https://t.co/oIXfjKOeE7
— Evan (@EvanBoller) May 6, 2023
Never did I think anything would make me feel bad for Willson Contreras but by god the Cardinals did it
— 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁 🙈 (@SaladinoWRLD) May 6, 2023
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