10 reasons why it is time to give up on the Cardinals' playoff chances this season

The Cardinals' best hitter may not return to the lineup this season

What if I told you one of the most disappointing lineups in all of baseball lost their one truly elite hitter and we were supposed to expect that lineup to start producing more? Yeah, I don't think you'd have a lot of confidence in that, and neither do I.

Willson Contreras does not qualify for leaderboards due to the number of games he has missed this year, but if he did, he would rank 13th in wRC+ (141) among all hitters in baseball, easily best among all catchers and higher than MVP candidates like Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Jose Ramirez, and Francisco Lindor.

Contreras has been a superstar this year, and even with his presence in their lineup, it has not been enough. I'm glad Ivan Herrera will be getting more opportunities now, but no one can replace the void Contreras is leaving on this Cardinal roster.

Contreras has also been the kind of vocal, fiery personality that the Cardinals have so desperately needed. This team feeds off that energy, and so again, removing that from this team gives me very little reason to believe they can just magically start playing better.

Trust me, I'm going to focus on the offense more here soon, but you gotta feel bad for Contreras and how things have gone for him in St. Louis. He welcomed the challenge of succeeding Yadier Molina. He wanted to be a Cardinal. He came to St. Louis ready to usher in a new era of winning baseball.

Instead, he was treated horribly last season, made to be a scapegoat for the issues of the front office and a bad pitching staff. Apparently, for all of the talk the Cardinals had about knowing no one can be Molina, they forgot all of that rhetoric when Contreras arrived at camp.

So after one horrible losing season where Contreras was blamed for the Cardinals' own faults, the club has once again disappointed, and Contreras has had two brutal, unlucky injuries that have landed him on the injured list. If Contreras hadn't had one of these major IL stints, I think he would be getting down-ballot MVP votes this year, but instead, he will get very little recognition for the incredible play he has had on the field.

It is a shame, really. I just hope that the final three years for Contreras in St. Louis can be better than the first two have gone for him circumstantially. He's done all the Cardinals could have asked for individually, but unfortunately, they have not held up their end of the bargain.