The Red Sox Acquire Willson Contreras From The Cardinals

Contreras is coming off a good season on both sides of the ball. He had a 124 Weighted Runs Created + paired with a .791 On Base Plus Slugging Percentage offensively.

On the defensive side of things, Contreras transitioned well from catcher to first base, as he had six Outs Above Average and four Defensive Runs Saved in 1,011.2 innings out there. Contreras had previously played catcher from 2016-2024 in 6,213.1 innings.

Boston is also getting back $8M from St. Louis. Contreras is in the third year of a five-year $87 million contract and has $41.5 million remaining, not including a $20 million club option in 2028.

Contreras has elite bat speed, hits the ball extremely hard, and had 52 extra base hits in 2025 to give him a really good slugging percentage. He also has a strong arm and at 33 years old, he’s a good veteran for the Red Sox clubhouse as well.

Now, no, this isn’t Ketel Marte or Pete Alonso, or Alex Bregman, but Contreras is really good. Boston fans now have their first baseman for the foreseeable future and don’t have to count on Triston Casas, who’s coming back from a major ruptured patellar tendon injury.

The Red Sox can now rely on the likes of Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Trevor Story, and now Contreras to carry the load offensively. This takes pressure off guys like Marcelo Mayer and Ceddanne Rafaela, while hoping for bounce-back seasons from Kristian Campbell and Masataka Yoshida.

Boston could bring Bregman back too, which would allow them to move Mayer to second base. It could still aim to make that Marte trade or shock the world by signing Bo Bichette and pry him from the Toronto Blue Jays.

What Are The Cardinals Getting Back For Contreras?

The Cardinals are receiving Hunter Dobbins, Yhoiker Fajardo, and Blake Aita from Boston in exchange for Contreras.

Dobbins is seen as the headliner here as he’s under team control until 2032, and the 26-year-old threw 61 innings in 2025 with an enticing 48.4% ground ball percentage. His average fastball velocity is 95.5 miles per hour, but he could improve on his chase, whiff, and strikeout rates.

St. Louis desperately needed pitching back, even after acquiring Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke in the Sonny Gray trade. Dobbins has a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, sweeper, splitter, and sinker in his repertoire.

Fajardo is a 6’3 right-handed pitcher who was the 23rd-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system and is only 19 years old. Scouts label him as advanced for his age, and he has two fastballs, a slider, and a kick changeup in his current pitch mix. Fajardo is coming off a 2.98 ERA season in Single-A, as he struck out 59 batters in 51.1 innings and 13 games.

Aita was the 29th-ranked prospect in Boston’s system and is a 22-year-old pitcher who had a 3.78 ERA in 64.1 innings in High-A this past season in 13 games. He has a fastball topping out at 95 miles per hour, a high-spin rate sweeper, and a cutter with a cut-slider shape as well.

As you can see, the Cardinals primarily focused on acquiring pitching in both of these deals, as that is all they acquired. St. Louis is a team that builds from within, and barely hands out free agent contracts nowadays. When it does, the Cardinals can still turn those players into even more players in terms of prospects, as they did in these trades.

The End Of My Willson Contreras Rant

I think this was a good acquisition by the Red Sox since Contreras is a really good hitter, and was good on both sides of the ball this past season. This is an upgrade for them based on last season, with all due respect to Lefty Demolisher, Romy Gonzalez.

St. Louis was able to shed the contract of Contreras, acquiring some pitching, and getting a guy you can rely on from day one in Dobbins. Their starting rotation as of now would probably be Dustin May, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, Richard Fitts, and Dobbins. The Cardinals also have Michael McGreevy and Kyle Leahy as options, as well as Quinn Matthews and Tink Hence, knocking on the door in the minors.

Boston was able to acquire even more starting pitching depth this offseason as they acquired Gray and Johan Oviedo, so they can afford to trade from within. Even with this, it probably still has an influx of pitching, which is never a bad problem to have.

The Red Sox’s pitching staff includes Garrett Crochet, Gray, Oviedo, Brayan Bello, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Kyle Harrison, Tanner Houck, Patrick Sandoval, and Kutter Crawford. A couple of these guys can end up in the bullpen, start in the minors, or they could be packaged in a trade for an additional bat as well.