Here are three things to keep an eye out for today…
1. Contreras update:
Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras exited last night’s game due to tightness in his right hip. The 31-year-old knocked in a run with an RBI single in the third inning but appeared to tweak something when tagging up on a fly-ball. He initially remained in the game, but after being doubled off on the bases, Contreras was “clearly limping off the field,” tweets Katie Woo of The Athletic. It’s been a miserable season for the Cardinals in general, but Contreras has flipped his own narrative with a blistering summer at the plate. Over the past two months, he’s been one of the best hitters on the planet, slashing .378/.427/.630 dating back to June 15. On the whole, Contreras is hitting .261/.357/.446 — numbers that fall right in line with his career marks. The Cardinals should have an update on his status before tonight’s game against the A’s. If Contreras requires a trip to the injured list, Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera would likely share catching duties in his absence.
2. Milestone watch for Altuve:
Jose Altuve’s three-hit showing in last night’s game pushed him within four hits of joining the 2,000-hit club. It’s at least feasible, albeit unlikely, that the Houston second baseman could reach that milestone tonight against Johnny Cueto and the Marlins. Altuve has already picked up a pair of four-hit games on the season, with his second coming just five days ago. The 33-year-old is in the midst of a torrid stretch at the dish, hitting safely in 15 of his past 16 games and slashing a preposterous .446/.532/.692 during that span of 77 plate appearances. Even if it’s not tonight, Altuve seems certain to become the 296th player in Major League history to cross the 2,000-hit threshold within the next few days.
3. MLBTR Chat today
It’s Tuesday, which means I’ll be hosting my weekly chat this afternoon at 1pm CT. You can click here to submit a question in advance and use that same link to follow along live or read the transcript after it’s concluded!
Aloha folks, I wonder if Willy will become more of a DH? He had injuries with the Cubs too. Not sure how well he ages behind the plate. Am glad he’s had a strong couple of months hitting. I also loved his interaction with Happ after Ian’s AB in their previous series. Sure seems like a lot of injuries this year. Mahalo
That’s always been the Cardinals plan. They believe Ivan Herrera is the next full-time catcher, so I’m sure even as early as next year as Herrera is expected to be fully major league ready by then, they will reduce Willy’s innings behind the plate. I’m guessing 50% depending on how Ivan’s bat looks right out of the gate.
Will be interesting to see how Willy’s bat responds to removing a lot of the wear and tear of the defense side of catching.
If that has always been the plan it’s a terrible plan. You don’t pay a free agent DH what they are paying him and aging DH’s don’t get 5-year contracts. Even if he’s a part-time catcher you just can’t give out that contract to a part-time player. I just have a card time believing that’s always been the plan. But, they have made some terrible personnel decisions lately, so I wouldn’t put it past them.
In the era of diminishing amounts of impact catchers, it’s not a bad plan at all. What would be a bad plan would be putting all of the eggs into the basket of an unproven Herrera in years in which you expect to contend. Wilson makes developing Herrera at the major league level possible. If it doesn’t work out, you just go back to Plan B and have Wilson catch. Either way, he’s an impact bay in the lineup.
I don’t think anyone disagrees with that as a plan going forward, i think it is the fact that wasnt “always” the plan. Maybe it developed into that. But of course the blanket, always develop replacements is the right model.
The Cardinals have long stated their belief that Ivan Herrera is the catcher of the future. Kinda conflicts with signing Contreras if they weren’t planning on shifting him to DH more often, no?
But then you don’t pay him like a starting catcher and more like a dh. Why pay top catcher dollar for a DH bat?
If it wasn’t for this, I may be inclined to agree with you
Wilson can help coach Herrera up- how to get your pitching staff to throw imaginary pitches and how to pick fights with opponents over imagined slights.
How much more does Altuve have to do before he can be called a HOFer? In my mind once he gets to 2500 hits its a lock. He’s had an incredible career and shined the most on the big stage.
My concern is that the national writers will always see 2017 as a blemish to Altuve’s career, even though he wasn’t involved whatsoever. It looks like his closest and most recent comp is Dustin Pedroia, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the 2025 class.
To say he wasn’t involved whatsoever is just not true. It’s been proven through the data gathered by Tony Adams that he used the system, just at a very low amount compared to some of his teammates.
I would also argue that being a part of the team that uses the system and not putting a stop to it makes you just as culpable as the teammates using it in full. I know I’m not alone in that thought.
Considering he’s one of (if not the best ever) hitters to play the game, if league-sanctioned steroids are enough to keep Bonds out of the hall of fame, than 2017 should be a serious consideration for all of the players involved.
“a very low amount” because if you infer the data like a sensible person would, then you’d understand that altuve clearly opted out of the system. it is entirely valid to say he wasn’t involved whatsoever because the data literally says that. you’d have to truly hate altuve to have your position.
i bet all that he does for the kids doesn’t really matter to you
Shoeless Joe is still not in the Hall. They never found any wrongdoing on his part. Rose is not in the Hall and he just bet on games. So it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that 2017 should and will keep any hitter on that team out of the Hall.
@super,
“Rose…just bet on games.”
JUST?!?!? That’s baseball’s one unforgivable sin, which has a well-deserved permanent (not just lifetime) ban.
Other than the fact that there was a recording studio hidden under his uniform, he completely innocent. And he had a reason for that- Drake was supposed to come over later and lay down some tracks
He may fall short of the Hall of Very Very Good. But under consideration for the Hall of All That He Be Doing Stuff for the Kids.
Rose has many other offenses and he was my favorite player as a kid. He’s not getting in.
Yeah but, he was on that team. That’s a major stain on what is an excellent career.
Just for his position alone and his comps to they position, he should get in, at least in my opinion, even with that mentioned stain. Can’t deny he’s a great ball player
Any transgression someone commits requires no punishment or consequence as long as they enjoy spending their ill gotten money on children. It makes you wonder what else he’s covering up. Think about it.
Again, not true. Tony recorded Altuve receiving bangs throughout the entire season, so he did not “opt out of the system.” He just didn’t use it as much relative to some of his teammates. He got trash can bangs sporadically through the entire season all the way through September. 2.7% of the pitches he saw were bangs throughout the year, and considering no bangs on fastballs still meant cheating, it can be “inferred from the data” that around 6% of the pitches he saw were cheated on.
That’s a real amount.
Everyone still mad at 2017 needs to get over it.
Did they cheat against the Red Sox? Or did a playoff rotation, after Chris Sale had a bad start, of Drew Pomeranz/Doug Fister/Rick Porcello perform about as well as could be expected?
The Yankees out-hit the Astros, but they ran into Justin Verlander twice and Aroldis Chapman threw a meatball of a slider that I could hit (with or without a trash can), so they lost.
Then, Yu Darvish was bad TWICE, and Kenley Jansen and Brandon McCarthy blew one game each from Dave Roberts’ poor bullpen management.
The only people who peaked in 2017 (position players) are Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Reddick, and maybe Jose Altuve (he peaked in 2016 or 2017). It is hardly unheard of for a bit player, a corner OF, and a perennial All-Star’s best seasons to contribute to a Title, so how much could sign stealing really help?
All y’all whiners have done is give Dodger fans an excuse to cry because they haven’t done anything since 1988.
The Statute of Limitations of most Misdemeanors is 3 or 5 years, depending on the State and charge.
“Let it go.” -Elsa
The ones involved openly admitted it, including Bregman and Correa. All of them said that Jose was not involved. To Jose’s credit, he did not defend himself and throw his teammates under the bus. The dude is credible
Cheater cheater pumpkin eater
Ironically, you need to get over 2020.
@Texas Pedroia isn’t going to get in due to injuries. The play for Altuve is to delay his official retirement once he hangs up his cleats. By the time of his eligibility, voters with a short-term memory will get him the votes.
She doth protesteth too much
If Altuve has this career in NY he would rival, if not surpass, Jeter. Dude remains a class act despite the hate.
Better be careful with the celebrating when he becomes Mr 2000. Stay away from the uniform. He shy
I still smile at fans continuing to boo Altuve 5 years later. It’s a simple pleasure. Everyone from the 2017 team should be boo’d and the championship revoked. That said, he’s a baller. HOFer worthy talent-wise.
Exactly this Brian, this is where I land on altuve, I think most people will land here once he’s out of the league.
He’s a complete lowlife and the stain of his dishonor will plague him and his family for their remainder of their lives.
Did he commit some actual atrocities, or he just cheated at baseball? Because one of them is actually deserving of that kind of treatment. And it’s got nothing to do with baseball.