Cardinals Willson Contreras is rightfully garnering national respect as first baseman

One of the single worst takes that I have seen this offseason has been those who claim Willson Contreras' contract with the St. Louis Cardinals is somehow "bad" because he is now going to be their everyday first baseman.

In all honesty, I think this is the smartest thing the front office has done all offseason, and it has nothing to do with Contreras' ability behind the plate. It has everything to do with availability.

Now that Contreras is a full-time first baseman, the Cardinals expect his bat to be in the lineup every day. And with how good he's been at the plate over the last three years, that is a massive upgrade for a lineup that has really struggled as of late.

Still, some continue to question if Contreras can handle the transition and if he's even good enough offensively to play the position. MLB Network's top 10 list of first baseman right now seems to think so, and I'll dive into all of the reasons you should believe in Contreras as the Cardinals' new first baseman.

MLB Network already has Willson Contreras as a top six first baseman in Major League Baseball

Ranking above names like Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, and Paul Goldschmidt, MLB Network's "The Shredder" placed Contreras in their top six first baseman in today's game, and while that left some scratching their head, it is absolutely the correct ranking.

Since becoming a Cardinal in 2023, Contreras ranks first among all catchers with at least 850 PA in wRC+ (133), wOBA (.363), and OBP (.367), second in SLG (.468), and is fifth in AVG (.263). If you were to stack Contreras up against primary first basemen, he would rank sixth in wRC+ and wOBA, seventh in OBP, tenth in SLG, and tied for 13th in AVG. So for those of you who question Contreras' bat at a position other than catcher, it's time to come to grips with the fact he's one of the best hitters in baseball.

Yes. He is one of the best hitters in baseball. If you compare Contreras to all hitters in the game with the same plate appearances or more since he became a Cardinal in 2023, he ranks 21st in wRC+, 20th in wOBA, 17th in OBP, and 39th in SLG. Yes, I understand that Contreras lags behind some of these guys by 200-400 plate appearances, but that is where the shift to first base plays in the Cardinals' favor.

In 2023, Contreras appeared in 125 games for the Cardinals, with 90 of those behind the plate. In 2024, Contreras appeared in just 84 games, with 51 of those coming at catcher. Contreras experienced a freak injury in May when his forearm was shattered by a JD Martinez's swing, and it caused him to miss six and a half weeks of baseball. On August 21st, Contreras was drilled in the hand by a Pablo Lopez fastball, fracturing his finger and causing him to miss the remainder of the season.

Getting just 84 games from one of the best bats in baseball is not a recipe for success. Assuming Contreras can now avoid those fluke injuries by not being behind the plate and hopefully not having an errant baseball break his finger again, he could play in almost double the amount of games he did in 2023.

I know there are concerns about his ability to play first base defensively, and so yes, we do need to see how he does there. But this is not a Jose Martinez situation. Contreras is athletic and nimble and has the tools to play the position well. Will it be perfect right away? Probably not. But I don't have any doubts about his ability to handle first base after playing the most difficult position in baseball for most of his career.