St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras hit his first home run of the 2025 season against the Philadelphia Phillies' ace, Zack Wheeler. The home run was a two-run shot in the fourth inning that opened up the scoring for the Cardinals and gave them a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals never looked back and walked away with the 7-0 win against the Phillies (9-6). On the afternoon, Contreras went 2-for-4 with the home run and a double. He is off to a slow start to begin his 2025 campaign, with a poor slash line of .158/.213/.263; however, Contreras is a career .256 hitter at the Major League level, so fantasy managers can expect him to pick it up as the season progresses. Up next for the Cardinals is a three-game series against the Houston Astros at home. Contreras will look to keep the hot bat going in that series.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is not in the starting nine on Friday when they begin a series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Contreras has had a slow start to the campaign and will be given the night off. Instead, Alec Burleson will cover first base and bat in the five-hole. Through the first 12 games of the campaign, Contreras has held an underwhelming .102/.170/.143 slash line with two doubles. However, he has tallied three hits over his last four games and has begun to slowly turn the corner. Fantasy managers should expect the 32-year-old to return to the starting nine on Saturday. He remains a must-start option despite his slump as he held a strong .262/.380/.468 line last summer. Burleson is worth a look in DFS facing Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras is 5-for-49 with 22 strikeouts to begin the season, but manager Oliver Marmol has elected to keep him at the top of the lineup in the early going, usually in the two-hole. The Athletic's Katie Woo writes that Marmol is weighing the possibility of moving Contreras down, though, given his slow start. The skipper prefers to switch between left-handed and right-handed hitters as much as possible in the lineup to make it difficult for opposing managers to game plan. Nolan Arenado is planted in the cleanup spot, and there are no other right-handed batters the Cardinals can use at the top of the order to break up lefties Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan. When catcher Ivan Herrera (knee) returns, he could be an option at No. 2. But until then, the Cardinals and fantasy managers are hoping Contreras can turn things around quickly at the plate.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher/first baseman Willson Contreras is out of the lineup on Tuesday for the first time this year against the visiting Los Angeles Angels at Busch Stadium. Catcher Ivan Herrera will also start on the bench, with Pedro Pages doing the catching for left-hander Matthew Liberatore and batting seventh against Angels right-hander Kyle Hendricks. It's a good time for Contreras to get off his feet for the first time this year, as the 32-year-old Venezuelan backstop is hitless with eight strikeouts in 19 plate appearances over his first four games in 2024. Alec Burleson is starting at first for the Cards and is batting second on Tuesday. Burleson will be the more popular DFS play for this matchup against the soft-tossing Hendricks, as Burleson has hit .429 with a 1.071 OPS in a small sample size of seven career at-bats against Hendricks.

St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak stated Wednesday that catcher Willson Contreras will be transitioned to a first base/designated hitter role in 2025. The hope is that the move will keep the 32-year-old healthy and allow him to extend the life of his career. The veteran backstop had a solid season for the time he was on the field in 2024, posting a .262-15-36-48-4 line with a .370 wOBA and 140 wRC+, but played in just 84 games due to varying injuries. He's expected to be ready to go for 2025, and the added positional flexibility should give him some additional value in fantasy leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (finger) will need two more weeks of rest before beginning baseball activities. That being said, the right-handed slugger won't be returning to the Cards lineup before the end of the regular season. It has been an injury riddled year for Contreras who only managed to play in 84 games. Luckily, the veteran catcher should be healed up and ready to go in time for spring training. Contreras finishes the season with a .263 batting average with 15 home runs and 36 RBI. The assumption is that Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera will split up the catching duties for the rest of the season. Herrera is the better fantasy option between the two with a .280 batting average and 22 RBI in 65 games this season.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (finger), who is currently sidelined with a broken left middle finger, will be re-evaluated on Monday, and the Cardinals will then plan his path to a return, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Contreras didn't need surgery on his finger and has been out of a splint for the past week and is eager to return before the end of the 2024 season. The 32-year-old veteran backstop has been out since Aug. 24, and if he does manage to make it back before the end of September, it might only be for a handful of games, so fantasy managers shouldn't be counting on him at all the rest of the way. In the meantime, rookie Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera will continue to split playing time behind the plate. Contreras was well on his way to a fourth straight 20-plus-homer season in 2024 before suffering the second serious injury of the campaign.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (finger) will not need surgery on his broken finger, according to manager Oliver Marmol. However, Contreras will be no impact for three weeks. The Cardinals have five weeks left in the regular season. The door is open for a return, but Contreras has no room for a setback along the way. The 32-year-old veteran backstop suffered a fractured right middle finger over the weekend when he was hit by a pitch and has already been placed on the injured list. Even if he does make it back at the tail end of the season, he's not going to have much time left to provide meaningful numbers for fantasy managers. Pedro Pages will now operate as St. Louis' primary catcher, with Ivan Herrera backing him up. It's a huge loss for the Cardinals as they battle for the final wild-card spot in the National League.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (finger) took a fastball off the right hand in the fourth inning of Saturday's 6-0 loss to the Twins, and after initially staying in the game to run the bases, has now been diagnosed with a fractured right middle finger. The Cardinals are expected to call up Ivan Herrera to replace him and split time with backup catcher Pedro Pages. Herrera filled in for Contreras earlier this season during Contreras' first IL stint, slashing .279/.340/.378 with three home runs, a .317 wOBA, and 105 wRC+ over 54 games. No timetable has been given for how long Contreras will be out, but it'd be hard to imagine he'll be back before the regular season ends.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras had a huge night in his team's 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Contreras went 3-for-4 with a double, two homers, a walk, and four RBI to power the Cardinals to victory. The veteran catcher kicked off the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning and came back with another two-run shot in the ninth. After the big game, Contreras is now hitting .261 with 15 homers, 44 runs, 34 RBI, and three steals across 257 at-bats in 2024.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras finished 2-for-5 with a game-tying solo home run Friday night and picked up an RBI single in a 7-6 extra-inning victory over the Washington Nationals. Contreras had a rough first week coming off the injured list with a 4-for-24 stretch and a .174 batting average, with all four hits only being singles while pitching in only one RBI. July has been a different story so far. Contreras in July has gone 5-for-17 (.294) in four games with two home runs and five RBI. Despite being injured for almost two months of the season, Contreras has remained a top-12 catcher after being ranked eighth at the position to start the season. He should be rostered in most fantasy leagues.

The St. Louis Cardinals officially activated catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) from the 10-day injured list on Monday and optioned catcher Nick Raposo to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. The team also activated right-hander Nick Robertson (elbow) from the 15-day IL and optioned him to Memphis. Contreras will draw right back into the starting lineup at catcher and will bat third on Monday against the visiting Atlanta Braves and rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach. The 32-year-old has made it back well before his projected timetable after fracturing his left forearm in early May, which has to make the Cardinals and fantasy managers ecstatic. Contreras will return to starting catching duties in St. Louis, but he may be eased back in with rookie Pedro Pages serving as his backup since Ivan Herrera (back) is on the IL.

All signs are pointing to St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) being activated from the injured list and returning to the starting lineup ahead of Monday's series opener against the visiting Atlanta Braves. Contreras fractured his forearm on May 7 and was originally slated to return by the All-Star break. Instead, he could rejoin the team weeks ahead of his projected timetable. He went 1-for-5 in his sixth minor-league rehab game for Triple-A Memphis, and his true testing point was catching back-to-back games, which he did on Friday and Saturday. He came out of those games fine and escaped a scar on Saturday when he was involved in a collision at home plate. With Ivan Herrera (back) also on the IL, rookie Pedro Pages is likely to stick around as Contreras' backup moving forward.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) arrived in the clubhouse ahead of Friday's game against the Boston Red Sox without a cast. Contreras is doing conditioning work, and he is hopeful that doctors will soon let him swing a bat with his right hand. It's a pretty remarkable turnaround for Contreras, who fractured his left forearm on May 7, and he noted that he's hopeful of returning to the Cardinals before the All-Star break in mid-July. In 31 games before going down, the 32-year-old star backstop was slashing .280/.398/.551 with six home runs, 11 doubles, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases across 128 plate appearances as St. Louis' primary backstop, and he should be stashed in the majority of fantasy leagues. Backup Ivan Herrera is worth a look in two-catcher settings for now, batting .448 (13-for-29) with five RBI during his current eight-game hitting streak.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) underwent successful surgery on Wednesday on his fractured left forearm and he's hoping to return by the All-Star break. Manager Oliver Marmol said that Contreras will likely be out for 10 weeks. The 31-year-old All-Star backstop was hit by a swing from New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez this week and will now likely miss the rest of the first half of the season. Because of the lack of depth at the catching position in fantasy, Contreras needs to be stashed for now in all formats. In his absence, Ivan Herrera will be St. Louis' primary catcher, with prospect Pedro Pages backing him up. Herrera currently is hitting .232/.276/.377 with three home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs scored in his first 69 at-bats in 2024.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (forearm) said he will have surgery on his fractured left forearm in the coming days. Doctors have told him that he will likely miss six to eight weeks, but Contreras said he hopes to return to the team by the All-Star game in mid-July. The 31-year-old veteran backstop was hit by the swing of Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez on Tuesday night and was in obvious pain. With Contreras now out for the foreseeable future, Ivan Herrera's fantasy stock just skyrocketed as St. Louis' primary catcher. The team is likely to recall Pedro Pages from Triple-A Memphis when they officially put Contreras on the injured list. Contreras entered Tuesday's game hitting .274 (29-for-106) with six home runs, 12 RBI and two steals. He needs to remain stashed in all fantasy formats while he's out.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (arm) has been diagnosed with a fractured left arm after exiting Tuesday's game against the visiting New York Mets in the second inning. Contreras was writhing in pain after getting hit on a swing by J.D. Martinez, and he immediately came out of the game. It's a massive blow to a Cardinals offense already struggling to produce runs as well as Contreras, who will face some kind of lengthy absence following the setback. Through 128 plate appearances (31 games) for St. Louis this year, the 31-year-old star backstop was slashing a robust .280/.398/.551 with six home runs, 11 doubles, 12 RBI, 20 runs scored, and two stolen bases. Ivan Herrera stepped in on Tuesday and figures to get all the action he can handle behind the dish in Contreras' stead, slashing just .215/.264/.369 with three homers and 11 RBI over 65 at-bats. Fantasy managers can find better replacements on waiver wires.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (hand) is back in the team's lineup on Wednesday, serving as the designated hitter and batting second against Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery. Ivan Herrera is doing the catching and is hitting fifth. Left-hand soreness caused the Cardinals to lift Contreras from Tuesday's game early, but manager Oliver Marmol said the decision to pull Contreras had more to do with the lopsided score. Still, the 31-year-old veteran's hand issue is something to keep an eye on. It hasn't affected him at the plate so far, as he's currently hitting .292 (19-for-65) with three home runs and eight RBI in 19 games. He's gone hitless in eight career at-bats against Montgomery, but fantasy managers in single-year leagues need to get him back into their lineups.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (hand) is back in the team's starting lineup on Tuesday, serving as the designated hitter and batting third in the order against right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies. Contreras is still dealing with soreness in his left hand and will make his first start since being hit by a pitch last Wednesday. The 31-year-old still feels the injury slightly when he swings, so DFS gamers would probably be smart to avoid him in his first game back. Ivan Herrera is starting at catcher and is batting sixth in St. Louis' lineup. In addition to Contreras not being 100 percent just yet, he's returning to a tough matchup against Wheeler, a pitcher he's hit just .200 against with one RBI in 15 career at-bats.

The St. Louis Cardinals scratched catcher Willson Contreras (hand) from the starting lineup yet again on Monday against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. Ivan Herrera is making yet another start behind the dish for the Cardinals and is hitting fifth in the order against Phillies right-hander Spencer Turnbull. Second baseman Nolan Gorman is in the three-hole. Manager Oliver Marmol feels that Contreras will be ready to catch by Tuesday. The 31-year-old backstop will sit out a fourth straight game due to a sore left hand that was injured last Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch. In the four games since Contreras has been hurt, Herrera has stepped in nicely and gone 6-for-17 (.353) with a home run and three RBI. He'll be attractive again in DFS lineups in the five-hole against Turnbull.