The San Diego Padres have a clear need for an upgrade at catcher, and the St. Louis Cardinals may have their guy for the job. The Padres are prioritizing resigning catcher Kyle Higashioka this offseason. However, their starting catcher Luis Campusano, who saw much time in the starting battery spot last season, mightily regressed in 2024 from an efficiency standpoint.
His .319/.356/.491 slash line from 2023 turned into a forgettable .227/.281/.361 slash line in 2024 and he also sported a -0.7 WAR. Additionally, the 26-year-old managed 10 more runs and RBIs each year-over-year despite playing in almost double the amount of games.
Padres beef up catcher slot in mock trade for Cardinals’ Willson Contreras
Thus, MLB.com’s Will Leitch labeled St. Louis Cardinals star catcher Willson Contreras as a player that San Diego would benefit greatly from pursuing in a trade. Leitch justified the pairing by saying this (h/t Curt Bishop of St. Louis Cardinals on SI):
“If made available, Contreras would instantly become one of the best upgrades in the sport, a catcher who can rake, is better behind the plate than he’s given credit for and, don’t forget, a World Series champion and intense competitor,” Leitch wrote. “His bat plays anywhere, regardless. San Diego would be a lovely place for him to land, as would Houston, a team he almost signed with rather than the Cardinals in the first place.”
Contreras is a well-rounded talent that could make Padres stronger contenders
Contreras was limited to only 84 games in 2024, but did slash a stout .262/.380/.468 with an impressive .848 OPS. The former 2016 World Series champion has shown that he’s a talent who will go for roughly 56 runs and 62 RBIs on average whenever he plays at least 100 games in a season and be in the 20-plus home runs ball park as well.
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The Venezuelan talent has also posted a fielding percentage north of .990 in four of his last five seasons. He’d be able to stand in for Campusano, who is rock-solid behind the plate despite having room to grow offensively, and be a firmer option than Higashioka on defense.
Contreras is set to make $18 million in 2025 and is under contract in St. Louis until 2028. Thus, while the three-time All-Star is an expensive option at catcher to try and trade for, the 32-year-old could be a talent who allows the Padres to capitalize on their wide open window as World Series contenders, which would be worth the cost.
