The St. Louis Cardinals are changing the position of catcher Wilson Contreras.
Local media outlets such as ‘The Athletic’ quoted manager Oli Mamol’s announcement on the 7th (Korean time) that Contreras will be appointed as a designated hitter and outfielder for the time being.
Contreras, a three-time All-Star, is a veteran of 5219 1/3 innings in 653 games as a catcher. St. Louis selected him as the successor to Yadier Molina last offseason, giving him a five-year, $87.5 million contract.
However, from the first year of the contract, he seems to change his position. Contreras has experience playing in left field, right field, and third base. In particular, he has the experience of throwing 219 2/3 innings in 24 games as a left fielder.
The continuous sluggishness of the pitching staff seems to have affected his position. St. Louis has the sixth-worst ERA of 4.73 in the National League, and the third-worst ERA of 5.39 for starters.
Andrew Kisner, who has previously stayed with the team and has experience working with pitchers, will serve as the main catcher for the time being, and Tress Barrera, a newly called-up, will serve as the backup catcher.
Director Mamol said, “We had a lot of discussions about this. This measure allows pitchers to work with a catcher they are a little more familiar with, and I think this will help,” he explained the meaning of this measure.
“We have our own way of operating, and Wilson is still learning this. Transferring to another team and learning all this is not an easy task. We have an internal strategy to help with that and we will be moving in this direction over the next few weeks.”
At the same time, he said, “What I want to say very clearly here is that it is not because of Contreras that our team loses,” and drew a line saying that Contreras should not be blamed for the current situation, which is only 10-23.토토사이트
Although it is not the cause of the defeat, it will not be very pleasant for the player in that he has to give up his main position.
Contreras said in an interview with local media, “It’s a tough decision, but I’m an employee. I know my primary position is catcher, but if the team wants more designated hitters, there’s nothing I can do other than be the best hitter possible