5 puzzling decisions by the St. Louis Cardinals in the past 2 years

Puzzling Decision #2: Changing Willson Contreras's position mid-season.

The Cardinals inked catcher Willson Contreras to a 5-year, $87.5 million contract in the winter between 2022 and 2023. Contreras would fill the Hall of Fame-sized hole left by his predecessor, Yadier Molina. It was unrealistic to expect Contreras to have the type of effect Yadi had on the pitching staff, but the hope was that Contreras's elite bat would offset his defensive shortcomings.

Those shortcomings rose to the surface in early May of 2023 when it was announced that Contreras would be moved off the catching position to be the team's primary designated hitter and occasional corner outfielder. In his stead, Andrew Knizner would be the team's game-caller behind the plate.

Contreras was as puzzled as fans were at the time. "It seems like I’m going to DH more than catching, which is not my decision, but I have to get used to it," said Contreras at the time. At this point in the year, the team was 10-23 and already had a massive distance between themselves and the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates. The organization was grasping at straws to find anything that would set the team on the right path; however, this decision, both at the time and in hindsight, clearly wasn't the ideal choice.

Contreras's main issue, according to the team, was related to game-calling and handling the pitching staff. Yadier Molina was a savant at managing a game, and there was going to be a drop-off. However, to give up on Contreras after only five weeks of baseball was foolish regardless of the team's record.