St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) celebrates after hitting a homer in the seventh inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals, Aug. 30, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. Cardinals won 4-2. Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cardinals First Baseman Officially Suspended: Length Still TBD

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Early last week, the St. Louis Cardinals won a wild game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeating their National League Central rivals 7-6 in walk-off fashion. However, in the bottom of the seventh inning, first baseman Willson Contreras was ejected from the game and exploded on home plate umpire Derek Thomas. Contreras threw his bat in Thomas' direction, accidentally striking hitting coach Brant Brown and later tossed a bucket of candy out onto the field.

Contreras was given a six-game suspension, but chose to appeal. The appeal process lasted over a week.

However, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News Democrat provided an update on the situation, revealing that the suspension is finally official.

Cardinals Slugger Suspended, Length TBD

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"MLB transaction log this morning says Willson Contreras has been suspended. He was expecting to hear from MLB by today, so expect an announcement regarding length later," Jones said on X.

Contreras is the only player on the Cardinals roster to have reached 20 home runs. He is hitting .254/.338/.448 with a 2.3 WAR, 78 RBI, a .786 OPS and a 119 OPS+. He is a three-time All-Star and was part of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series championship team.

The Cardinals are already without both Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan, who are on the injured list and don't have an official timetable for a return. While the Cardinals are out of postseason contention, losing Contreras still hurts, even with the length of the suspension still undetermined.

The Cardinals may have to make a roster move to replace Contreras. Who will play first base in his absence is still yet to be determined. Perhaps Nolan Gorman could take reps at the position. St. Louis could even give reps to Jordan Walker or Thomas Saggese.

Both Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo can play the position, and Pozo is eligible to return from the 7-day concussion injured list on Friday. But not having Contreras will certainly hurt as they try to play spoiler on some contending ballclubs in the coming weeks.

It's always possible that Contreras could have the suspension reduced from the original six games and return in short order, but the offense takes a major hit with him on the shelf.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals navigate this loss in the coming days and what they will do with their roster.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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