St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras will miss six to eight weeks with a broken arm he suffered in a freak accident from a catcher’s interference.
In the top of the second inning, J.D. Martinez was at the plate for the New York Mets when he swung at an 85 mph breaking ball from Miles Mikolas.
In his swing, though, Martinez’s bat hit Contreras near the wrist, and judging by Contreras’ reaction, it was clear that something was seriously wrong.
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Willson Contreras, #40 of the St. Louis Cardinals, reacts after getting hit by a bat on a follow through of the swing of J.D. Martinez, #28 of the New York Mets, in the second inning at Busch Stadium on May 7, 2024 in St Louis. Contreras broke his arm on the play. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Contreras rolled around in pain behind the plate, but when he stood up holding his arm, he began screaming in pain.
Manager Oliver Marmol and a trainer came out to check on him, but it was obvious he would not be staying in the game.
X-rays later revealed a fracture in Contreras’ left forearm.
“It was numb, and I knew it wasn’t right. Once I tried to do some motion stuff, there was some cracking in [the arm] and I knew it was bad,” he said after the game.
“So right now I mean, I’m in pain pretty good, but I’m really upset missing. I know that it’s going to be tough for me to watch the games and not out there with the guys, but I’m going to do my best to stay present, pick each other up and cheer for them because that’s the best thing I can do.”
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, #40, is checked on by a trainer and manager Oliver Marmol, #37, after fracturing his left arm during the second inning against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. (Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)
“I hit meat,” Martinez said. “I felt like I hit meat. I didn’t hit like just like a glove where you kind of just point back to catcher, it was just solid. I was like, dude, I hit him good. … I felt terrible.”
MLB.com notes that Contreras has been setting up closer to the batter behind the plate to improve his defense – while a good strategy for framing pitches, it ultimately comes with quite a cost.
“It’s a huge risk, and it was talked about in the offseason and a topic in discussion because there were more [catcher’s interference calls], because they are evaluated on framing,” Marmol said. “The closer they’re able to get to the hitter to get that low pitch, it’s definitely a topic of conversation. The risk is high, and we just experienced it.”
To make matters worse, Martinez was awarded first base.
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, #40, reacts after fracturing his left arm during the second inning against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. (Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)
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Contreras had doubled in the first inning, when St. Louis scored three runs, but the Mets eventually won, 7-5.
He is hitting .280 with six homers and 12 RBIs. The 31-year-old is in the second year of a five-year, $87.5 million contract.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.