ST. LOUIS — If you're Willson Contreras, how do you feel right now?
The team you made a long-term commitment to catch has seemingly thrown you under the bus less than 40 games into that new, $87.5 million contract. Oof.
The Contreras situation continues to evolve by the day. But the Cards' catch..... err, make that designated hitter, continues to take it in stride.
To be fair, It doesn't appear to really be his fault in the first place.
It wasn't any big secret that Contreras wasn't going to bring the level of situational pitch-calling and defensive insight his predecessor Yadier Molina brought for almost 20 years.
The Cardinals just now appearing bamboozled that he hasn't lived up to those lofty standards behind the plate makes them look foolish, not Contreras.
This kerfuffle coming during a time when the team still has the worst record in the National League only makes things look worse, as if a significant reason for the awful start is Contreras' catching capability.
Here's a number that stuck out to me while browsing Twitter.
MLB.com's Mike Petriello tweeted on May 7 that the projected WAR for Cardinals starting pitchers before the season was 20th in baseball. As of May 7, they were ranked, you guessed it, 20th. In short, the rotation is who we thought they were.
There was an abundance of questions up and down the staff coming into the year. Does Contreras really make them that much worse? I'm not buying it.
But enough piling on. Let's focus on the positive thing here. Contreras appears to be handling this like a champ.
He's said all the right things in front of the camera, and according to the reporting from our Cardinals insider and the Athletic' Kaite Woo, has even sat down with Oliver Marmol, Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty to try and work things out.
The bottom line in all this nonsense is simple though. If Contreras doesn't get back to being the team's primary catcher, it is a fundamental problem for the organization.
Not only does it not fill a position you thought you had locked in for the next five years, but it also makes you change everything else. Nolan Gorman now has to play second base. Brendan Donovan now has to play the outfield. Your outfield becomes even more crowded. It's a domino effect.
The whole situation has become an unneeded embarrassment in a season already in serious jeopardy of sliding into infamy.
Or who knows? Maybe the team will be using all of these commentary and criticism pieces in October showcasing just how much they overcame. The NL Central certainly seems keen on keeping that faint dream alive as long as it can.