The Chicago Cubs should be worried as catcher Willson Contreras has interest in the rival St. Louis Cardinals.
The Chicago Cubs were once again heading to a losing season, and it was believed that they would trade impending free agent, catcher Willson Contreras. Instead, they held onto him at the trade deadline, allowing him to potentially hit the open market.
For the Cubs, their worst nightmare could become a reality.
When speaking with the media, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher and former Cub Jose Quintana revealed that Contreras had reached out to him to get some intel on St. Louis, and said that he gave him a strong recommendation.
Willson Contreras reached out to Jose Quintana about Cardinals
Contreras confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer that he did speak to Quintana about the Cardinals.
“He said it’s a really good team and he likes it there,” Contreras said, h/t NBC Sports Chicago. “But we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Quintana joined the Cubs in 2017 following a trade with the crosstown White Sox. He was part of the team until the conclusion of the 2020 season, when he hit free agency. After brief stops with the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants, Quintana put up a strong first half of the 2022 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline.
This season, Contreras recorded a .243 batting average, a .349 on-base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage, 22 home runs, 55 RBI, 65 runs scored, and 101 hits.
The Cardinals will have a need at catcher, as Yadier Molina is retiring whenever the team’s postseason run ends. Going from Molina to Contreras could be a dream come true for Cardinals fans. But as he says, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.
There is a question as to whether the Cubs will place a qualifying offer on Contreras or even offer a multi-year contract extension. If Contreras is to sign elsewhere, it is safe to say that Cubs fans would prefer him to sign anywhere outside of the NL Central.