How Willson Contreras deal impacts Cardinals, MLB’s catch-up market

Jordan Shusterman

FOX Sports MLB Analyst

SAN DIEGO — It took a while, but the first domino of a lucrative off-season market has collapsed. With the official Yadier Molina era in the background, Saint Louis Cardinal agreed to a five-year $87.5 million contract with Contrast WilsonBaseball’s top freehand catcher.

It’s not just the Cardinals that are filling the shoes of a franchise legend in Molina with a player their fan base has resisted over the past half-decade as one of the faces. of the opponent Chicago Cubs. Contrast also represents a significant stylistic difference from the type of player Molina used to be, especially in the later part of his career. Since his debut in 2016, Contreras has been the most effective goalscorer in this starting position JT Realmuto. Contreras’ 128 OPS+ in 2022 is the best achievement of his career and a mark last achieved by Molina in 2013. The signing of Contreras not only addresses the need for a clear position, but also complements it. adds legitimacy to a roster that lacks depth beyond the size of MVP’s season Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arena and Albert Pujols’ remarkable final hurdle.

On the defensive side, reviews of Contreras have been mixed for years. His receiving, framing and blocking ranged from below average to solid, while his best assets behind the shot were a strong arm and quick release. It would be unfair to expect any catcher tasked with tracking Molina to live up to his legendary reputation as one of the great generals in baseball history. Still, Contreras is a stellar athlete for his position and there’s no reason to think he can’t improve on some of the more subtle elements of catching the ball with his new team. While Molina may be retired, the standard and example he sets in terms of game planning and in-game tuning can serve as a useful template for Contreras to lean on in any game. any attempt to improve his defense.

Finally, St. Louis decided that Contreras’ offensive impact would comfortably offset any questions about his abilities behind the board, making him the best way to tackle the most obvious flaw in the game. list. The theme of the perennial Cub in Cardinals can take some getting used to, but we won’t have to start thinking about it until spring training. More broadly, this signing has significant implications for the rest of the fishing market, both in terms of free agency and trade in the coming days.

Here are the biggest questions raised as Contreras leaves the board:

1. Where does Sean Murphy end up?

Recall that the baseball world came to the Winter Meeting earlier in the week to report that the trade Like catcher Sean Murphy was approaching, indicating that his time in Oakland was coming to an end. The Cardinals were supposed to have teamed up with Murphy but chose Contreras instead, leaving Murphy to teams like Cleveland, Tampa . Bay, and now reported as Arizona, to assemble the best possible package to entice Oakland to finally pull the trigger.

2. Did the Murphy deal precede the Blue Jays catch?

With no more Contreras, we might now be in for a staring contest between Oakland and Toronto, as each club seeks to ensure that they get the right deal if they are going to trade a catcher. With Alejandro Kirk, Gabriel Moreno and Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays have a wide selection of who they can debunk, and each of them has a different level of appeal compared to Murphy. We don’t know how teams chasing catchers rate Murphy compared to Toronto catchers — we can’t assume the same team is talking to both Oakland and Toronto. At the same time, the entire fishing market is firmly connected and the chain of transactions will affect each other no matter what.

3. How to rotate the Astros?

Contreras is said to be one of the HoustonFree agent’s top goal, especially after Justin Verlanderdeal with meet. Trading in AL West for Murphy could be highly unlikely, so perhaps we’ll see the Astros team up with one of the Blue Jays or move on to the next level of free agency stops… exactly how much? including who?

4. Who gets the next free agent to sign?

Unlike stops or start-up pitches, where elite selections are/are available, Contreras clearly exists at its own rank among peers. The next group includes the likes of Christian Vazquez, Omar Narvaez, Gary Sanchez and Mike Zunino. There was a slight drop after that for players who attacked first like Jorge Alfaro and defensive experts Austin Hedges, Roberto Perez and Tucker Barnhart. These are all useful players but very few of them are guaranteed to upgrade to current starters on competitive teams – which is what makes Murphy so valuable and attractive in this scene, especially when Contreras is no longer playing.

The latest reports indicate that in addition to the things mentioned guard and the Astros, Red Sox and twin are two other teams with post-season aspirations in search of catchers.

5. Do we see a sale or a signing happening next?

Teams are currently combining to find a catcher who is likely to weigh the cost of acquiring the next level of freelance agent versus going after Murphy or one of the Jays trio. Where is this musical chair game really come into play. Teams that want catchers don’t want to end up without one of the best options available; groups that want to move catchers don’t want to wait for their best possible trading partners to fill the position via other avenues. Are the A’s and Jays just waiting for all of the best free agency catchers to sign to get more prospective value out of a team that missed out on those picks? It’s a delicate dance, but the signing of Contreras is sure to kick off more action in the catch market soon.

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Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He followed baseball his entire adult life, most notably for MLB.com, DAZN and Ringer. He’s a Mariners fan living in the Eastern Time Zone, which means he loves the first pitch at 10pm. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.

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