Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras will go through a period of no impact for two more weeks as his fractured right middle finger continues to heal, manager Oliver Marmol said on Monday following an X-ray of Contreras’ finger. The two weeks without impact will rule Contreras out for the remainder of the regular season.
“That’s fair. We’re two weeks away from him (having) real impact on it,†Marmol said when asked if the update will keep Contreras out of the Cardinals’ final 13 regular-season games of 2024.
Before Monday’s update, Contreras went through three weeks of no impact after he suffered the broken middle finger when a pitch hit him on Aug. 24 in Minnesota.
“It’s healing well, but still a couple of weeks out before they want him having any type of real impact on it,†Marmol said.
Contreras, 32, could return to game action this year if the Cardinals catch fire and ride the surge into a playoff spot.
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The Cardinals entered Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium seven games back in the standings for the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets began Monday tied for the lead for that third spot. The Chicago Cubs trailed both the Braves and the Mets by five games.
The fractured right middle finger marked Contreras’ second extended stay on the injured list this year. Contreras missed just over six weeks from early May to the middle of June with a left forearm fracture he suffered when he hit by a bat swung by Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez.
Contreras batted .262 with 15 home runs and an .848 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) across 84 regular-season games this year. Before the left arm fracture, Contreras batted .280 with six homers, 11 doubles and posted a .950 OPS on 31 games to begin the year.
Contreras returned ahead of schedule from that fracture and hit nine home runs to go with a .253 batting average and a .792 OPS in 53 games before a 95 mph fastball from Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez hit Contreas on his right middle finger, breaking it.
“I mean, you look at his (Contreras’) overall production, and it was top-end production offensively,†Marmol said. “We lost him for a decent amount of the season, but when you look at when he was in there, man, he did really nice job of creating real offense and damage and power and all the things that we talked about this needed in order to kind of get to where we wanted to get to.â€
Defensively, Contreras showed improvements in game planning with pitching coach Dusty Blake, members of the starting rotation and with the Cardinals bullpen.
“There is a lot more comfort in how that communication was taking place, and that also goes with just a second year of it, but I do feel like we were headed in a good direction as far as the game planning side of things,†Marmol said.
Since inking a five-year, $87.5 million deal ahead of the 2023 season, Contreras has produced a .263 batting average and an .835 OPS in 209 regular-season games as a Cardinals. Contreras’ batting average and OPS in two seasons as a Cardinal are both better than his average (.256) and OPS (.808) in seven seasons with the Cubs.
“It was unfortunate,†Marmol said of the injuries. “I know this is a guy who works extremely hard and wants to be in there more than anybody, but some random injuries kept him from doing that. Nothing you can do about it.â€
Minor notes
A home game Tuesday marks the first of Class AAA Memphis’ final six games of its regular season. As Memphis heads into its final week, here’s a look at how some young Cardinals have fared:
- Nolan Gorman, who was optioned on Aug. 21, heads into the final week for Memphis having homered six times, struck out 14 times and produced a .217 batting average in 69 at-bats.
- Zack Thompson, who opened the year in ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ starting rotation, owns a 4.71 ERA with104 strikeouts in 84 innings.
- Michael McGreevy has maintained a 2.88 ERA in seven starts since making his MLB debut on July 31.
- Gordon Graceffo is 2-3 with a 6.13 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 47 innings following his most recent MLB appearance on July 10.
- Victor Scott II has played in two games for Memphis since getting optioned a week ago.
Class Low-A Palm Beach lost Game 1 of the Florida State League Championship Series 7-6 on Sunday to Lakeland, the Detroit Tigers’ Class Low-A affiliate, at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida. Palm Beach will host Game 2 on Tuesday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. Palm Beach must win on Tuesday to force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Wednesday in Jupiter.
Class AA Springfield (Missouri) will begin its postseason on Tuesday with Game 1 of the Texas League Division Series against Arkansas, the Seattle Mariners’ Class AA affiliate, at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Brandon Komar (8-3, 3.10 ERA) is listed as Springfield’s probable starter. Springfield will host Game 2 and Game 3 (the latter being if necessary) at Hammons Field in Springfield.
Big league debut at Busch
The Pirates on Monday selected the contract of 22-year-old infield prospect Nick Yorke. Yorke, whom the Pirates acquired from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline in exchange for right-hander and former top prospect Quinn Priester, started at second base and batted seventh against the Cardinals in his MLB debut Monday at Busch Stadium.
Yorke, who was selected 17th overall by the Red Sox in the 2020 MLB draft, had been hitting .355 with a .938 OPS with Indianapolis, the Pirates’ Class AAA affiliate, since the July trade. The 22-year-old has a career .284 average across four seasons in the minors, where he also hit 50 home runs.