I mean… as a (former) Catcher, he sure has the flexibility and the ability to track/field various throws (especially hops)…
And given that his bat is his strong suit, this may just end up paying off for him if he can get the position down somewhat.
Huh. Did not see that coming.
Not sure why we aren’t trading him but this makes sense if he’s staying.
He’s the only catcher who can actually throw out a stealing runner or block a pitch
If this means he will be playing the field on days he isn’t catching, I’m all for it. Free up the DH for Walker or Burly or whoever else.
I’m not opposed to him getting time there. I’ll be fairly surprised though if he is there full time. Unless after the last time he was hit by a bat he decided fuck that noise.
Tell em Wash
This organization confuses me
How is Crooks on defense? Wasn’t he just named the franchise’s prospect of the year?
[With the likely departure of Paul Goldschmidt, first base is open. Additionally, the club has lots of depth at the catcher position (Herrera & Pages) Maybe most importantly, Contreras was limited to 84 games in 2024 due in part to a forearm injury he sustained on a backswing. The move to 1B will allow the club’s best hitter to avoid freak injuries behind the plate and stay in the lineup. However, this may be a tactic to push the star catcher towards waiving his full no-trade clause. Contreras takes a lot of pride in his ability behind the plate, and moving him to 1B could influence his willingness to leave](https://x.com/stlsportscntrl/status/1854272786451353799?s=46&t=Xn0juU2C4hEaElfmeGb4jQ)
I don’t hate this. This might keep him from getting injured as much as he has been the past 2 seasons.
Can’t say I saw this coming but hey if Willson’s game for it then good for him
He’s a bat-first 32-year-old catcher that can’t catch a break with catching-related injuries. Makes perfect sense.
Or just trade him. We have plenty of 1B candidates and C prospects in the pipeline. If we aren’t competitive just trade the assets while they are valuable.
Wasn’t Willson drafted as an infielder in the first place? I think he’ll be fine
Maybe it’s the way to signal to Contreras, who still wants to catch, that he may need to waive his no trade clause in order to catch.
Total missed opportunity to move Burleson there full time, or even Walker. Could’ve also used Goldy leaving to give Baker some run but no lets just create another log jam and keep trotting out our poor defensive outfield
Wonder what this means for Luken Baker?
In my mind he was the RH bat guy to pair with Burleson at 1B.
And with Gray saying his preference is to remain in St Louis, that solidifies the rotation a bit (might have to pay Mikolas to go somewhere else), seems the final look for the roster is taking shape.
Arenado conspicuous by his absence in being announced that he wants to stay, and that could end up being a win-win for both parties.
My guess is money is still tight around the league and they have no takers for the big money contracts (or at least without retaining significant salary). Contreras would probably have been the easiest of ours to move based on age/salary/performance/position.
I don’t mind it though, I usually poopoo the idea of leadership or whatever , but he brings some passion that we have lacked in the Arenado/Goldy era. Some combo of him/Herrera/Burly/ Luken/Walker at C/1B/DH gives us flexibility and the younger guys some playing time.
this is herrera fans’ world series
No.
Would have much preferred a Burleson/Baker platoon at first.
He was not the guy we needed to move to first. I’m all for him playing it occasionally, but he is just another block for one of our young guys
This seems like a terrible Idea as a catcher he could legitimately make a HoF case with that bat. As a 1st baseman hes in the hall of very good. Plus if 2025 is being conceded its time to see if Baker can play in the big leagues.
Meh. Position changes in November often come undone in March. If he’s still on the team then, we’ll see how it pans out in Jupiter.
lol. Okay.
I think if anything this will keep him healthy all season. He’s arguably our best hitter at the plate, when healthy.
I was honestly expecting them to move Herrera to 1B but I don’t hate this. When Jimmy Crooks is ready this is going to turn into a cluster again though.
Does make you wonder if they had some kind of date for this before he even signed to be honest. I mean he had a lot of off days behind the plate even in Chicago
Me – “I appreciate Goldy for his time here. Wish he could have won more. But at least Burly/Baker can get some time at 1B. That’s definitely a bright spot”
Guess i’ll go get the clown makeup
Not everyone is Yadi and can catch 1,000 innings a year into their late-30s. He’s reached that point. And yet again one of the reasons they should have dealt Goldschmidt a year and a half ago so that he could play some first.
At least they’re deciding it now, so he can work over the winter, instead of the first Spring Training game.
Cardinals got tired of mismanaging their young players and have now shifted focus to mismanaging their veteran players
This is merely a stepping stone to a Matt Adams-like move to the outfield. Smart decision by the organisation.
Someone is trying to destroy Cardinals nation…!
Good people aren’t giving their money anymore…
You dumbasses. Did Herrera get traded? Why would you not put the catcher that can’t throw anyone out at first? I suggested this months ago. Coming from a team that already shits on it’s players, it’s pretty comical if they are doing this to force him to want traded. Who tf will want to sign here when they treat players like shit. Let him catch, just don’t make him sit over homeplate.
I thought he was an outfielder?
I’m honestly a bit surprised he wouldn’t want to leave. I guess that all would depend on the team he’d be going to but if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be super happy about my time here
39 comments
This is stupid as fuck.
…..what?
I mean… as a (former) Catcher, he sure has the flexibility and the ability to track/field various throws (especially hops)…
And given that his bat is his strong suit, this may just end up paying off for him if he can get the position down somewhat.
Huh. Did not see that coming.
Not sure why we aren’t trading him but this makes sense if he’s staying.
He’s the only catcher who can actually throw out a stealing runner or block a pitch
If this means he will be playing the field on days he isn’t catching, I’m all for it. Free up the DH for Walker or Burly or whoever else.
I’m not opposed to him getting time there. I’ll be fairly surprised though if he is there full time. Unless after the last time he was hit by a bat he decided fuck that noise.
Tell em Wash
This organization confuses me
How is Crooks on defense? Wasn’t he just named the franchise’s prospect of the year?
[With the likely departure of Paul Goldschmidt, first base is open. Additionally, the club has lots of depth at the catcher position (Herrera & Pages) Maybe most importantly, Contreras was limited to 84 games in 2024 due in part to a forearm injury he sustained on a backswing. The move to 1B will allow the club’s best hitter to avoid freak injuries behind the plate and stay in the lineup. However, this may be a tactic to push the star catcher towards waiving his full no-trade clause. Contreras takes a lot of pride in his ability behind the plate, and moving him to 1B could influence his willingness to leave](https://x.com/stlsportscntrl/status/1854272786451353799?s=46&t=Xn0juU2C4hEaElfmeGb4jQ)
I don’t hate this. This might keep him from getting injured as much as he has been the past 2 seasons.
Can’t say I saw this coming but hey if Willson’s game for it then good for him
He’s a bat-first 32-year-old catcher that can’t catch a break with catching-related injuries. Makes perfect sense.
Or just trade him. We have plenty of 1B candidates and C prospects in the pipeline. If we aren’t competitive just trade the assets while they are valuable.
Wasn’t Willson drafted as an infielder in the first place? I think he’ll be fine
Maybe it’s the way to signal to Contreras, who still wants to catch, that he may need to waive his no trade clause in order to catch.
Total missed opportunity to move Burleson there full time, or even Walker. Could’ve also used Goldy leaving to give Baker some run but no lets just create another log jam and keep trotting out our poor defensive outfield
Wonder what this means for Luken Baker?
In my mind he was the RH bat guy to pair with Burleson at 1B.
And with Gray saying his preference is to remain in St Louis, that solidifies the rotation a bit (might have to pay Mikolas to go somewhere else), seems the final look for the roster is taking shape.
Arenado conspicuous by his absence in being announced that he wants to stay, and that could end up being a win-win for both parties.
My guess is money is still tight around the league and they have no takers for the big money contracts (or at least without retaining significant salary). Contreras would probably have been the easiest of ours to move based on age/salary/performance/position.
I don’t mind it though, I usually poopoo the idea of leadership or whatever , but he brings some passion that we have lacked in the Arenado/Goldy era. Some combo of him/Herrera/Burly/ Luken/Walker at C/1B/DH gives us flexibility and the younger guys some playing time.
this is herrera fans’ world series
No.
Would have much preferred a Burleson/Baker platoon at first.
He was not the guy we needed to move to first. I’m all for him playing it occasionally, but he is just another block for one of our young guys
This seems like a terrible Idea as a catcher he could legitimately make a HoF case with that bat. As a 1st baseman hes in the hall of very good. Plus if 2025 is being conceded its time to see if Baker can play in the big leagues.
Meh. Position changes in November often come undone in March. If he’s still on the team then, we’ll see how it pans out in Jupiter.
lol. Okay.
I think if anything this will keep him healthy all season. He’s arguably our best hitter at the plate, when healthy.
I was honestly expecting them to move Herrera to 1B but I don’t hate this. When Jimmy Crooks is ready this is going to turn into a cluster again though.
Does make you wonder if they had some kind of date for this before he even signed to be honest. I mean he had a lot of off days behind the plate even in Chicago
Me – “I appreciate Goldy for his time here. Wish he could have won more. But at least Burly/Baker can get some time at 1B. That’s definitely a bright spot”
Guess i’ll go get the clown makeup
Not everyone is Yadi and can catch 1,000 innings a year into their late-30s. He’s reached that point. And yet again one of the reasons they should have dealt Goldschmidt a year and a half ago so that he could play some first.
At least they’re deciding it now, so he can work over the winter, instead of the first Spring Training game.
Cardinals got tired of mismanaging their young players and have now shifted focus to mismanaging their veteran players
This is merely a stepping stone to a Matt Adams-like move to the outfield. Smart decision by the organisation.
Someone is trying to destroy Cardinals nation…!
Good people aren’t giving their money anymore…
You dumbasses. Did Herrera get traded? Why would you not put the catcher that can’t throw anyone out at first? I suggested this months ago. Coming from a team that already shits on it’s players, it’s pretty comical if they are doing this to force him to want traded. Who tf will want to sign here when they treat players like shit. Let him catch, just don’t make him sit over homeplate.
I thought he was an outfielder?
I’m honestly a bit surprised he wouldn’t want to leave. I guess that all would depend on the team he’d be going to but if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be super happy about my time here