Cardinals reverse Willson Contreras’ demotion from catcher after … 6 days

Willson Contreras must be the world’s fastest learner. Either that or the St. Louis Cardinals have lost the plot.

Per MLB.com, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters that the team has decided Contreras is ready to resume his normal catching duties, six days after demoting the prized free-agent acquisition due to the team’s struggles on the mound.

Contreras will get his next start behind the plate Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers, when he will catch starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. Marmol reportedly said Contreras has spent much of the past week working to get more in sync with the Cardinals’ game plan for attacking hitters and that Flaherty pushed for Contreras to be restored as catcher.

From MLB.com:

“We felt really good about the progress that we’ve made, and it lines up really well for him to catch on Monday with Jack on the mound,” Marmol said of the decision for Contreras to return to a catching role. “This is what [Flaherty and Contreras] wanted. They both wanted it, and Willson wanted to be behind the plate on Monday. And we felt really good about lining it up that way with all the progress that we’ve made.”

Cardinals’ Willson Contreras shifting to DH, outfielder: What it means for his playing time - The Athletic

This is crazy. The team already has a thousand outfielders and has sometimes struggled to fit Nolan Gorman into the lineup. The last thing they need is to force another square peg into their lineup. Whoever was the decision-maker for the Contreras signing needs to be relieved of that responsibility.

When the Cardinals signed Contreras this offseason, they did so under the pretense that he would be their primary catcher. However, with the Cardinals reeling and the pitching staff struggling, manager Oli Marmol and the front office came to the conclusion that the rotation could benefit from some familiarity. Knizner will now catch the bulk of the starts, with Barrera serving as the reserve catcher.