As the St. Louis Cardinals strive to stay in the playoff hunt, they’ve faced a significant setback with an injury to star catcher Willson Contreras. Contreras, who joined the team from the Cubs in free agency two years ago, has fractured his finger and will be out for several weeks.
In the interim, Ivan Herrera is expected to step in for Contreras. Herrera, a former top prospect once seen as Yadier Molina’s successor, has not quite lived up to that role but provides solid depth, batting .279/.340/.378 over 54 games. Pedro Pages, who has been Contreras’ primary backup for most of the season, has also been performing well, hitting .326/.356/.442 since the All-Star Break.
This situation raises the question: Should the Cardinals make a major move to replace Contreras or stick with their current options? The answer seems to be a strong affirmative.
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One potential option for the Cardinals is Elias Diaz. If St. Louis were a playoff team, they might wait out Contreras’ injury and rely on their existing replacements. However, with the team lagging behind in the NL Central and six games back from the Braves for the third NL Wild Card spot, it may be worth taking a chance on a former All-Star MVP.
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Diaz was recently waived by the Colorado Rockies. Despite a decline since the All-Star Break, he’s had a solid season overall, batting .270/.315/.378. Last year, he was Colorado’s NL All-Star Game representative and won the MVP award for that game.
Adding Diaz would likely involve pairing him with Pages, which could either move Herrera back to the minors or prompt a position shift. Diaz’s transition from catcher to first base is manageable, and it could provide additional depth to challenge Paul Goldschmidt, who has not been at his best in 2024.
Additionally, Diaz is a former target of the Cubs, a division rival. Though the Cubs don’t seem interested in acquiring Diaz before the winter, facing him in Cardinals colors might prompt them to reconsider.
The Cardinals had previously identified and addressed one major issue last winter by improving their pitching staff’s ERA from 5.08 to 4.46. Unfortunately, the offensive struggles persist, with key players like Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Nolan Gorman failing to ignite the lineup.
Every contender could use a boost now and then, and adding a player like Diaz could provide that spark—or at least not hurt the team.
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