Former Cub Wilson Contreras returns to Wrigley for first time since joining Cardinals
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Cubs welcome the St. Louis Cardinals into town for the first time this season starting on Monday, and that means they'll see a very familiar face in the visiting dugout.
Wilson Contreras was back at Wrigley Field in a Cardinals uniform after signing a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Cubs' biggest rival. But Contreras lost his role as a catcher less than two months into the season, although he is in the starting lineup as the designated hitter.
"I'm excited," Contreras said. "It's been emotional the last few days for sure, but I'm happy to be back here at Wrigley Field even though I'm wearing a different uniform. I'm happy to see my ex-teammates and play against them."
Back in February when he joined the Cardinals, Contreras said the Cardinals were a better organization than the Cubs, even though he won the World Series in Chicago back in 2016. Contreras played for seven big league seasons in a Cubs uniform.
He admitted it will be an emotional three-game series at Wrigley.
"What I want to see the most is the fan reaction," Contreras said with a laugh. "I can't wait to see it."
He admitted he was a little nervous and thought maybe the reaction would be split 50/50 from the fans, which is "acceptable," he said.
"You know you've got a relationship, you're World Series brothers for life," said Cubs manager David Ross, who was Contreras' teammate on that 2016 squad. "So you follow those guys, even when I'm following St. Louis, I'm looking what Wilson's doing. I'm looking at what [Kyle] Schwarber's with Philly, [Anthony Rizzo] in New York, [Kris Bryant] in Colorado, Javy [Baez] in Detroit, former teammates you just follow."
CBS 2 Sports Director Marshall Harris asked Chicago Tribune Cubs beat writer Meghan Montemurro if the team dodged a bullet by not bringing back Contreras.
"You know, obviously the Cubs new Wilson very well," Montemurro said. "And that's not to say he's not a great player, but clearly, they're prioritizing pitching. They're prioritizing defense and they're willing to give up some of the offensive aspect behind the plate to get that. So I think they made it clear that he wasn't going to be a fit going forward and yeah [the Cubs] are looking pretty good right now."
Harris: "When you look around the division, and see that the Cubs actually lead the NL Central, by a hefty margin, in run differential, is this division theirs for the taking?"
Montemurro: "I think right now you're seeing there's not really a dominant team in the division. It will be interesting to see now with a balanced schedule. So you're not playing as many games against your division, so you can't really beat up on, say, the Reds if they continue to struggle. So it's going to make those in-division games even more important because those are the times where you can try to build on a division lead, or cut into the division lead. They're positioning themselves to be in the race and that's what you want to get through that first month where you don't basically sabotage yourself out of an opportunity to be in it come June, July and into the late summer. I think they're in a great position right now. The offense is slumping a little bit, but you'd expect that over the course of a season. There's going to be the ebbs and flows offensively, but I think they're happy with where they're at right now."
