ST. LOUIS — It did not take Willson Contreras long after brutally fracturing his forearm to decide that whatever recovery timeline he was given, he would beat.
When J.D. Martinez’s downswing connected with Contreras’ forearm on May 7, the sight of the catcher howling in pain behind home plate was a clear indication that his injury was grim. Contreras’ fractured ulna needed to be surgically repaired and he was given a recovery timeline of at least two months.
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Contreras underwent surgery the following day. Two days later he had his cast removed. And a week after that, he knew he’d return to the Cardinals much sooner than planned.
“I like to be challenged,” Contreras said with a shrug. “When I heard (recovery) was 8-10 weeks, I was like ‘Eh, I’m making my way back sooner.'”
Consider Contreras to be a man of his word. It took him just shy of seven weeks to make his way back. When manager Oli Marmol released Monday’s lineup, Contreras was behind the plate, batting third. He went 1-for-4 in his return, contributing a key RBI single and scoring a run in the Cardinals’ four-run third inning. St. Louis held on for a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves, its fourth consecutive win.
“The energy he brings … the overall competitiveness, guys feed off of that,” Marmol said after the victory, which propelled the Cardinals to a season-high three games over .500. “You can hear it in the dugout, as soon as he gets that hit. Things have been going well, and you add someone like Willson to the mix and it’s a heck of a lot of fun.”
Welcome back, Willson! 👏 pic.twitter.com/WuJdpwXwtf
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 25, 2024
As it turns out, Contreras lobbied for an even earlier return.
“Around May 18-20, I told myself I was going to come back sooner than today,” he said. “But I spoke to the doctor and he said we have to give the bone time to heal. I tried to make it earlier, but I respect the doctor’s decision.”
Originally, Contreras identified a mid-June return, targeting a series against the Chicago Cubs that began on June 14. However, the organization wanted to pace Contreras back responsibly and planned for six days of rehab games in Memphis instead. Contreras might not have loved the decision, but he understood the reasoning — and he was comforted by how well the team played in his absence.
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“I don’t want to be sitting around watching the guys playing, especially with this team starting to (play well),” Contreras said. “I want to stay here and they know that I’m here for them. But obviously, it was easier for me to go on my rehab assignment knowing the guys are playing really good baseball.”
The Cardinals are indeed playing really good baseball. They have won nine of their past 12 games and have the best record in the National League since May 12 (25-13). That they won Monday’s game without Paul Goldschmidt (scheduled rest day) and Nolan Arenado (forearm discomfort, day-to-day) and were able to stay away from top set-up relievers JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge was one of their more impressive feats.
The best news for this organization? More top reinforcements are on the way.
Michael Siani goes FULL EXTENSION! 😱 pic.twitter.com/kaB6mfIQe4
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 24, 2024
Arenado is expected to avoid an IL stint after receiving an injection in his left forearm on Sunday. He had been dealing with discomfort for the last week but felt a stronger sense of pain during a checked swing in Saturday’s game. He participated in pregame drills on Monday and could return to the lineup as early as Tuesday.
Lars Nootbaar (oblique strain) and Tommy Edman (right wrist surgery) also received good news Monday as they moved closer to rehab assignments. Nootbaar took batting practice in the cages before Monday’s game and felt “really good” and is set to repeat that on Tuesday. Edman took batting practice on the field Monday and will do machine work on Tuesday as a way to get live at-bats. He’ll repeat that on Wednesday and if all goes well, the Cardinals will decide whether to start him on a rehab assignment by Thursday.
Nootbaar and Edman could begin rehab assignments by the first week of July. The extent of Nootbaar’s recovery will be based on feel and reps, while Edman’s will likely span multiple weeks given the substantial amount of time he’s missed this season. A return to the major-league club by the All-Star break remains the goal for Edman, though Nootbaar could return before that.
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With just over five weeks remaining until the trade deadline, predicting what president of baseball operations John Mozeliak will do is premature. All signs point to the Cardinals buying on July 30, but Mozeliak acknowledged that the health of his club will ultimately dictate his decision.
“We want to make a push past .500,” Mozeliak said in a recent interview. “There’s still almost four months of baseball left, a lot of baseball still left to be played. When I look at this club right now, I still think it can win. But we have to get to where we’re healthy.”
After three months of the season, the Cardinals finally seem on the right track. Contreras’ return was the first of many, and it will help pace the next month as St. Louis looks to continue building upon its recently established momentum.
(Photo of Willson Contreras: Joe Puetz / Getty Images)
Katie Woo is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball. Prior to joining The Athletic, Katie spent two years covering the minor leagues as an editorial producer for MiLB.com and spent the 2018 MLB season covering the San Diego Padres as an associate reporter for MLB.com. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and originates from Northern California. Follow Katie on Twitter @katiejwoo
