The St. Louis Cardinals’ season has taken a serious blow. The team that seemed to be functioning smoothly was taken aback by the news that star catcher Willson Contreras was injured. There were visible signs that he had painfully suffered a blow on the field. As he rolled on the floor with pain, it turned out that he had suffered a fractured left forearm. 

This comes after Contreras left Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets in evident pain after taking a swing from Mets slugger J.D. Martinez off his arm during a catcher’s interference call. How the Cardinals lineup is going to deal with this is still unknown, but clearly, there is a lot to St. Louis’ plate after this injury. 

The devastating news of Willson Contreras’ forearm injury 

Contreras, a three-time All-Star and the heart and soul of the Cardinals’ lineup, has been a beacon of consistency for the team this season. He led the Cardinals in hitting with a staggering .949 OPS. Apart from that, he was a bright spot in an otherwise offensively challenged St. Louis squad.

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The injury is particularly disheartening for Contreras, who made significant adjustments to his catching style. After all, his rough defensive season in 2023 called for this change. These changes, including setting up closer to the plate to improve pitch framing, seem to have paid off with a more comfortable Contreras behind the dish. Nevertheless, it was this very positioning that left him vulnerable to Martinez’s powerful swing.

The Cardinals now face a tough situation and the daunting task of replacing Contreras’s production both offensively and defensively. While backup catchers like Ivan Herrera will likely see increased playing time, there’s simply no replacing Contreras’s all-around impact.

Looking ahead, St. Louis Cardinals is on the long road to recovery

The Cardinals have placed Contreras on the 10-day IL. However, a forearm fracture generally requires 6–8 weeks of recovery. This only means that Contreras would miss a significant portion of the season. With that, the Cardinals might suffer a massive dent in their playoff hopes. However, they have recalled C Pedro Pagés from Memphis (AAA).

Cardinals fans are understandably devastated by the news. Contreras’s leadership, both on and off the field, will be sorely missed. The team now faces a major challenge: can they overcome this significant loss and keep their season intact? Only time will tell, however, one thing is for sure: the Cardinals’ plan to reach October just got a whole lot tougher.