1:08 PM ET
Jesse RogersESPN Staff Writer
- Jesse joined ESPN Chicago successful September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
The St. Louis Cardinals person recovered their replacement for the spot vacated by longtime catcher Yadier Molina, reaching a five-year, $87.5 cardinal woody with escaped cause Willson Contreras connected Wednesday, a root acquainted with the woody told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Contreras, 30, has spent the past 14 seasons successful the rival Chicago Cubs organization. In 7 MLB seasons, helium has deed .256 with 117 location runs and 365 RBIs.
Known for his beardown arm, Contreras has dealt with disapproval astir his crippled calling, but that whitethorn person been overblown. He helped oversee a Cubs pitching unit that went to the postseason successful 5 retired of six years from 2015 to 2020.
Contreras tin besides play near tract and archetypal basal and volition apt get immoderate reps arsenic the designated hitter erstwhile he's not down the plate.
He compiled a 128 OPS+ successful 113 games past play for the Cubs but is the lone escaped cause catcher with draught prime compensation attached to him aft Chicago gave him a qualifying offer.
Molina retired aft a vocation that spanned 19 seasons successful the majors, each with the Cardinals. The 10-time All-Star catcher was a two-time World Series champion, winning 9 Gold Glove awards and a Silver Slugger grant portion registering 2,168 hits.
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