6 changes the Cardinals need to make to maximize their roster and win more games

Change #1 - Restore Willson Contreras as the primary catcher

We've all questioned the Cardinals' move to remove Willson Contreras from being the primary catcher. But before we any further - let's see if the Cardinals were right to believe it would help their starting pitching.

On Wednesday's edition of BK & Ferrario on 101 ESPN, Brandon Kiley looked at the rotation's and bullpen's ERA before and after April 27th, when the Cardinals first began having Andrew Knizner catch half of the games they played before becoming the primary catcher. Here is the breakdown.

Starting Rotation
Before April 27th - 5.20 ERA (24th in MLB)
Since April 27th - 5.20 ERA (22nd in MLB)

Bullpen
Before April 27th - 4.00 ERA (17th in MLB)
Since April 27th - 3.85 ERA (15th in MLB)

So far, the results seem to suggest what everyone else believed, besides the Cardinals, that the clear issue with the pitching this season has not been Contreras' fault, but rather, bad performances from their pitching staff. Shocker, right?

Well, all Contreras has done since this weekend is rake, and it's time to put him back as the primary catcher. Have the starters or coaches call games if you have to, but it's clear that Contreras deserves his job back, and that it makes the Cardinals so much better having his bat there, rather than clogging up the DH spot.