Cardinals Announce Willson Contreras News Before Reds Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 6:50 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have not been eliminated from postseason contention but are facing an uphill battle with a 4.5-game deficit for the final NL wild card spot and just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Although St. Louis will be undergoing changes in the offseason from top to bottom, first baseman Willson Contreras expects to remain with the organization for the rest of his five-year, $87.5 million contract signed ahead of the 2023 season.

Contreras has played catcher for the majority of his ten-year career in the big leagues but transitioned to first base in 2025 to appear in more games and provide the team with more of his offensive value. This has proved to be a wise decision, as Contreras has appeared in 135 games—the most he has played during his entire tenure with St. Louis.

Oli Marmol Shares Latest Willson Contreras Injury Update

Unfortunately, as the season winds down, Contreras has continued to be battered and is experiencing discomfort after being hit by a pitch twice last Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. He sat out the series finale against Milwaukee on Sunday and attempted to tough it out on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds but was forced to depart early with right biceps soreness.

After Contreras was absent from the lineup on Tuesday, the Cardinals announced via manager Oli Marmol that he had suffered a mild right biceps strain. Marmol revealed the first baseman would also miss Wednesday’s game and would be reevaluated on Friday. If no improvement is shown, he could be headed to the injured list. (h/t MLB.com's John Denton)

#STLCards 1B Willson Contreras has been diagnosed with a mild right bicep strain, manager Oliver Marmol said. Contreras will be held out tonight and Wednesday and Thursday’s off day. If it’s not improved by Friday, he could be headed to the 10-day IL.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) September 16, 2025

This is an unfortunate development for the Cardinals, as the organization has valued his durability this year, and his recent injury was suffered due to his continued bad luck in the batter’s box. Contreras has been nailed by a National League-leading 23 pitches this season.

The 33-year-old veteran has otherwise been as solid as ever at the plate, posting a .257 batting average, .344 on-base percentage, .791 OPS, 20 home runs and 80 RBIs across 135 games. In Contreras’ absence, Alec Burleson is likely to log more starts at first base for St. Louis during the final stretch of the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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