When the St. Louis Cardinals and Willson Contreras mutually agreed to have the veteran move to first base, the assumption was that this would be a permanent transition. After nine years of wear and tear behind the dish, Contreras and the organization found it best to move to first base. This move would, in theory, keep him healthier and allow him to elevate his offensive game to another level.
When the move was initially made, former president of baseball operations John Mozeliak was confident this move would be permanent. “I would say it’ll be very unlikely to see him behind the plate,” Mozeliak said at the time.