Willson Contreras's handling of position changes makes Rafael Devers seem ungrateful

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Willson Contreras to a five-year deal in the 2022-2023 offseason to be their catcher of the future. Just one month into that contract, the organization reneged on its promise to Contreras.

On May 6, 2023, it was announced that Willson Contreras would temporarily be relieved of his catching duties. Those would now fall on Andrew Knizner. The club pinned this transition on Contreras primarily, saying they wanted a backstop who was more familiar with a veteran pitching group that included Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, and Jordan Montgomery.

According to reports at the time, Contreras would be primarily used as a designated hitter and a corner outfielder. It took only two days for the club to backtrack once again on their decision to use him in the corner outfield.

It would have been very easy and understandable for Willson to sulk in his removal from his primary position. Instead, he took the change like a champion and willingly accepted his new role. “It caught me by surprise that Tres was up,” Contreras said. “I mean, I’m happy for him to be here because he’s a great guy. But it seems like I’m going to DH more than catching, which is not my decision, but I have to get used to it.”

“It’s tough, but I’m an employee,” he added. “I know my primary position is catching, but if they want me to DH more, I can do nothing about it except by being the best hitter I can be.”

Fast forward to November 2024, and Contreras was once again being asked to switch positions. He would now be filling a Paul Goldschmidt-sized hole at first base following Goldschmidt's departure via free agency. Catchers have often moved to first base with varying degrees of success, but this would be Contreras's third position with the Cardinals, just two years into his lengthy contract.

Contreras could have asked for a trade as the organization entered a transition year. He could have waived his no-trade clause to play his preferred position of catcher elsewhere. Instead, he embraced this position change.

“I don't think any position is easy to play, but I think the more you enjoy the process, the better you can get at it,” said Contreras. “It’s a learning experience for me this spring, and I’m really just trying to enjoy it.”

It's a learning experience. I'm really just trying to enjoy it. These are phrases that a leader would use when he takes on a new role on a young team. Willson Contreras willingly accepted a position change for the betterment of the team this past offseason. Boston Red Sox designated hitter and former third baseman isn't taking the same approach.

Boston Red Sox Rafael Devers's unwillingness to change positions for the betterment of his team makes Willson Contreras's position changes more noteworthy.

Allow me to first shout out Anthony Stalter, Carey Davis, and Jamie Rivers, who first discussed this idea on Friday, May 9th, on The Fast Lane. When I first came up with this idea, I was not aware that these two had discussed this topic last week.

When the Boston Red Sox signed Alex Bregman this offseason to play third base for them, Rafael Devers was not overly excited to shift to designated hitter. He loved third base, and he wanted to play there for the foreseeable future. There was only one problem with Devers at third: he was horrid defensively.

Recently, the Red Sox's first baseman, Triston Casas, went down with a season-ending knee injury. Chatter began to grow that Devers should move to first base. To put it succinctly, Devers was having none of that.

"I know I'm a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there," said Devers of the potential change to first base. "In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH. So right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”

Devers's unwillingness to play first base to help out his team comes off as slightly selfish when compared to Willson Contreras's willingness to play other positions to help out the team. Contreras has sacrificed his body (literally) and his legacy by switching positions with the Cardinals, and he's done it with a smile on his face and without complaint.