Just 33 games into Willson Contreras‘ tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team intends to remove him from the regular catching rotation and use him primarily at designated hitter and in the outfield.
Contreras, who joined the Cardinals on a five-year, $87.5 million contract as a free agent in December, will start a regular stint at designated hitter with Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, manager Oliver Marmol told reporters.
Andrew Knizner will serve as the Cardinals’ primary catcher over the next few weeks, with Tres Barrera — who was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Saturday — also getting some opportunities.
The Cardinals enter Saturday with the worst record in the National League at 10-23 and are on a seven-game losing streak.
Marmol told reporters he was not blaming Contreras for the Cardinals’ struggles and noted that the decision was made following a meeting with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, pitching coach Dusty Blake and Contreras.
Contreras, 30, is hitting .280 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 31 games. He has served as the Cardinals’ starting catcher in 23 games and caught in 27 this year.