The St. Louis Cardinals are well into a top-to-bottom rebuild that has already seen the team trade closer Ryan Helsley and starting pitcher in Sonny Gray in the last several months.

A lot of the decisions made by the Cardinals and president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will be predicated on versatility and the team control pertaining to the current players of the roster.

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One of the most talented veterans on St. Louis could also be able to move back to his original position, which would open the Cardinals to construct their roster better.

At MLB winter meetings in Orlando, Fla., St. Louis manager Oli Marmol spoke on the Foul Territory podcast and discussed the possibility of first baseman Willson Contreras moving back to catcher in 2026.

“He has a passion for (catching),” Marmol said on the Foul Territory podcast. “And, if needed, I wouldn’t put it past him to be able to go back there and still do it. He took to (first base) a lot better than I anticipated. I thought he would be good over there, he did a really nice job. Footwork around the bag was good. His dedication to it was awesome. I think there’s some versatility there. … He wanted to be a good first baseman. And this a guy that you’d think, ‘Oh he just wants to bang.’ He took pride in his defense and he did a really nice job. … They trusted him over there. I trusted him over there.”

Contreras, 33-years-old, has been in the major leagues for 10 years and spent the vast majority of that decade as a backstop. He earned three All-Star nods in 2018-19 and 2022.

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Contreras moved to first base this past season and put together a solid season. He scored 70 runs in 135 games and hit 31 doubles, a triple and 20 home runs with 80 RBIs. He slashed .257/.344/.447 with a .791 OPS. His RBIs and runs scored were both his most in a single season and he played the most games in one year since 2018 with the Chicago Cubs (138). His total hits (126) were also a single-season career-high.

Contreras is one of the team’s highest-earners and is under team control for the next several seasons. He’s set to earn $18 million in 2026 and $18.5 million in ’27 with a $17.5 million club option in ’28.

Veteran presence is good for a club, even a rebuilding one, to have. If Contreras can continue to be a serviceable option at first base, catcher and designated hitter, Bloom and the Cardinals will likely continue to keep him on the team in their new era.

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