Learning a new position is never easy in baseball, but St. Louis Cardinals catcher-turned-first-baseman Willson Contreras is certainly approaching it with the right attitude.
“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,” Contreras said, per John Denton of MLB.com. “It’s a learning experience for me this spring and I’m really just trying to enjoy it.”
The Cardinals decided at the end of last season to move Contreras to first base in order to preserve his body over the course of the season. The 32-year-old, who has caught the majority of games in his career, has hit for an OPS of .800 or higher each of the last three seasons. He also hit 15 home runs in 84 games in 2024 and has consistently been a 20-plus home run hitter.
“We think that being such a productive hitter, not catching will make him a better hitter,” Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said at the GM meetings in November. “How do we protect his career?”
Willson Contreras has impressed the Cardinals with his play at first base
By all accounts, Contreras is a natural at the position. He’s played a grand total of 11 career games at first, but he seems to have taken to it quickly this spring.
“It’s not an easy position or what everybody thinks it is, and it can be a really tough spot to play,” fellow first baseman Alec Burleson said. “But Willson has put his work in and he’s even been asking me questions, which is kind of weird. But he looks awesome there. Your baseball instincts don’t ever really go away, and he’s using those over there at first. And it’s fun being over there [at first base] with him every day, and it’s been fun watching him make that transition.”
His manager, Oliver Marmol, praised Contreras for turning a tough 3-2-3 double play in the Cardinals’ game Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“As a catcher, when you have a runner on third and you are back-picking, you teach to throw it right at the runner because they have one choice — duck and be out,” Marmol said. “[Contreras] took that same thought up the line while throwing home and it gets the guy to duck to buy some time for the double play.”
As an added bonus, Contreras is also hitting well this spring. In 35 plate appearances coming into Tuesday, he is slashing .367/.457/.533 with a home run and two doubles.
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