“At some point, common sense needs to prevail” – MLB insider believes catchers need to prioritize health over approaching home plate to steal strike

One of the new trends seen in the MLB season this year is teams putting their catchers nearer to the hitter to frame pitches and steal a strike. However, as Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras' injury has shown, it opens up the catchers to the possibility of getting seriously injured.

With several catchers already having been struck by hitters, Wall Street Journal reporter Jared Diamond believes that something needs to be done. Speaking on Wednesday's episode of "Foul Territory," he said:

“Look, I undertsand how important those strikes are. I'm not naive to that, you can see it in the numbers. But at some point, common sense needs to prevail. It's dangerous enough back there.”

During last week's game between the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals, catcher Willson Contreras was struck in the forearm by a J.D. Martinez swing which resulted in a fractured arm. Since then, there has been much debate in the baseball community about what steps can be taken to ensure catchers' safety in the modern game.

According to Diamond, there are two options: the first is to introduce a robot strike zone, while the other is for MLB to intervene and draw a catcher's box at home plate. Contreras' replacement in the Cardinals lineup, Pedro Pages was also struck by a swing during last night's game against the LA Angels but he was lucky enough to avoid injury.

If such incidents continue to occur in the near future, MLB will have added pressure to take some measures.

Willson Contreras' replacement for the Cardinals struck by a swing

Having made his MLB debut last month, St. Louis Cardinals rookie catcher Pedro Pages recorded his first hit in the major leagues against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.

Pages drilled a three-run double to left field, giving his team a 5-0 lead on the night, which ultimately ended with a 7-6 win. Later in the game, the rookie catcher had a scary moment when he was struck by a swing just like Willson Contreras. Luckily, he avoided any serious injury, though he will likely end up with a bruise.