The annual GM meetings have concluded and the most notable Cardinals player-related news to come out of those meetings came in the form of Willson Contreras being moved to first base as his primary defensive position. It is yet to be seen if Contreras will have more significant time at that spot, though. The Cardinals could intend to primarily DH him and have him play 1B on days that Alec Burleson needs off or if there’s a particular left handed pitcher on the mound that profiles as a poor matchup for “Burly.”
There seems to be some consternation about what that might mean defensively for the Cardinals, as we’ve experienced in the past, not EVERYONE can play first base (Gabe mentioned the famous Moneyball quote in his post on this subject from Thursday), and it can have a detrimental effect on the rest of the infield if you’re not solid at 1B. But, in projecting what that could look like defensively there are some recent examples of Catchers moving to first base. Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, and Carlos Santana are all recent within the last 20 seasons as examples of players moving off of Catcher for a variety of reasons, but, primarily, health related among them.
One area that shouldn’t be a cause for concern is the fact that the bulk of Willson’s value is in his bat and this does present a possible opportunity to siphon more out of his offensive output, though the hope should be that he continues at current pace, and his bat absolutely plays at the level you’d hope for from a 1B/DH. Credit to @JacobE_STL on X for these stats. Last season among 1B with a minimum of 350 plate appearances Contreras would’ve ranked 2nd in OBP (.380) and BB% (12.6%) 3rd in wOBA (.370) and wRC+ (140) and 4th in SLG (.468). These rate stats suggest that Willson would’ve been a top 5 offensive performer at the position and furthers my earlier comment about a move to 1B doesn’t necessarily preclude him having to do MORE after the position change, but simply repeat what he did last season to profile as a valuable asset at the position as most of a first basemen’s value is based on offensive profile.
Defensively, however, has some Cardinals fans blood pressure elevated, but I wouldn’t include myself as one of them for these reasons: I don’t anticipate him playing more than 40 games at the position this season instead DH-ing the bulk majority of the games, we have historical references to point to as examples to say that if the former catcher has the athleticism and attention to detail to catch, they can be better than serviceable (an example of a best-case scenario being 2024 Gold Glove winner Carlos Santana), and finally, he already has previous MLB experience playing the position. It is a very small sample of 51 innings, but none the less a familiarity and be is not completely new to the position.
The other aspect to this situation that Cardinals fans should be excited about is it gives a clearer pathway to consistent playing time for the young tandem of Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages. The Cardinals also have several other promising young catchers developing beyond them in 2024 Texas League MVP Jimmy Crooks (#5 on MLB.com), 20-year-old switch hitting Double A catcher Leonardo Bernal (#9), and further depth beyond that in 2024 4th Rd pick Ryan Campos (#23), 17-year-old DSL lottery ticket Rainel Rodriguez (#24), and Sammy Hernandez (#28) whom they acquired from Toronto for Genesis Cabrera at the ‘23 deadline. Given that level of depth and strong pipeline of young catching, it is clear a 33-year-old, bat-first catcher being moved off the position to another should foster the continuation of young talented catching rising through the system and not find themselves immediately blocked from possible MLB opportunities.
Overall, it’s a good decision for the Cardinals to clear a path to playing time for young catchers and it’s beneficial for Contreras. The move from out from behind the plate should extend his career and allow for him to focus more on continuing to be an offensive force through this Cardinals transition and into the next winning window in Cardinals baseball! Thanks for reading!
