St. Louis Cardinals pitchers disillusioned by new catcher Willson Contreras behind the plate: "They simply no longer wanted to pitch to him"

For the St. Louis Cardinals, the 2023 season is shaping up like nobody expected and in the worst possible way.

With a record of 16-25, the birds now find themselves at the very bottom of the NL Central. The mighty unravelling came after the team posted a 93-69 record in 2022, clearing their division by seven games over the second-place Brewers.

A big reason why the St. Louis Cardinals have struggled to get it done is pitching, particularly starting pitching. The starting rotation has a cumulative ERA of 5.32 so far this year, placing them 25th out of 30 MLB teams.

"Willson Contreras gets a hit in his first at-bat and is egging on the crowd as they boo him" - Talkin Baseball

Although the reasons for this may well be plentiful and complicated, a few arms on the team have identified one key issue: veteran catcher Willson Contreras.

In a recent piece for USA Today, writer Bob Nightengale revealed that (according to his sources) several Cardinals starters approached management to say that they do not want Contreras catching them anymore. Nightengale writes:

"The starting pitchers told management they simply no longer wanted to pitch to him, at least not this season, after getting off to their dreadful start, producing an ugly 5.40 ERA."

Contreras, 31, spent the first seven seasons of his career behind the plate for the Chicago Cubs, where he won the 2016 World Series. After the retirement of future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina, the Cards inked Contreras to a five-year deal worth $87.5 million.

The complaints by the staff led the Cardinals to take Contreras off of catching duties, only to reinstate the Venezuelan a week later. Offensively, Contreras is hitting .257 with 3 home runs and 18 RBIs in 39 games with the Cards this season.

"Cardinals To Shift Willson Contreras Off Catcher" - MLB Trade Rumors

St. Louis Cardinals need to make Willson Contreras arrangement work

Willson Contreras will notionally return to his spot behind the plate as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Milwaukee Brewers on May 15. The scheduled starter for the St. Louis Cardinals is right hander Jack Flaherty, who is nursing a 6.18 ERA so far this year. Whether or not he is back to stay remains to be seen.

Although it is still the very early stages of Contreras' five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, the rotations apparent unwillingness to throw to him is worrying.

After the Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series, Contreras was seen as a hero, now, he faces the very real risk of becoming a zero. This, before the season has even really begun.