Cardinals News: Willson Contreras handed a 6-game suspension, appealing decision

Following Monday night's fireworks between St. Louis Cardinals' slugger Willson Contreras and home plate umpire Derek Thomas, all eyes were on the Commissioner's Office to see what kind of suspension awaited Contreras.

It's safe to say the league came down pretty hard on Contreras.

MLB had suspended Willson Contreras for 6 games, pending his appeal

Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that Contreras had been suspended for six games, which would equate to over half a million dollars in forfeited salary. Contreras chose to appeal the decision, meaning he was able to play in last night's outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates and may continue to play until the appeal process is over.

Following the game, Contreras maintained his posture that he did not believe his actions warranted being ejected from the game, and manager Oliver Marmol backed Contreras up on that. While I think most of us can agree that home plate umpire Derek Thomas handled the situation poorly and should not have thrown Contreras out of the game, Contreras' reaction to the decision was inappropriate, to say the least.

Not only did Contreras physically charge after Thomas and have to be restrained by Marmol and Daniel Descalso, but he then threw his bat back toward the field of play, accidentally striking hitting coach Brant Brown in the process. He then proceeded to launch a bucket of Hi-Chew onto the field following that.

Overall, it was a really bad look for Contreras, and I am still surprised the Cardinals have not publicly denounced that part of his behavior. I do like that Marmol went out there to defend his guy and has been looking to hold Thomas accountable for the ridiculous ejection, but it still does not excuse the other behavior that Contreras demonstrated.

Marmol has been clear that he believes the video evidence does not support Thomas' claims of what he believed Contreras said, and so if the league office can see that as well, perhaps Contreras' suspension will lessen. I do not see a world where it is completely removed due to the charging and especially the bat-throwing. He also made physical contact with an umpire, which is a big no-no, but it does not seem like the umpiring crew believed there was intent behind that.