St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras left his team's game against the Oakland Athletics with right hip tightness. Contreras picked up a single in the third inning but then came up limping after tagging up from first to second base on a Tyler O'Neill flyout. He was replaced at catcher by Andrew Knizner a half-inning later. Contreras also missed a few games in late July with the same ailment. He is hitting .259 with 13 homers, 42 runs, 49 RBI, and six steals across 99 games in his first season with the Cards. Look for Knizner to see most of the playing time at catcher if Contreras is held out of action after Monday's game.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras will take a seat for the series finale on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Andrew Knizner will do the catching and hit seventh against Rays right-hander Zack Littell. Like most of the rest of the team, Contreras got off to a rough start in his first year in St. Louis in the first half of the season, but he's picked it up to raise his season slash line to .252/.345/.429 with 12 home runs, 43 RBI, six stolen bases and 40 runs scored in 333 at-bats. You could do a lot worse at the weak catching position in fantasy. Since the All-Star break, the veteran backstop is hitting a strong .315 (17-for-54) with two long balls, three doubles, seven RBI, a stolen base and five runs scored in 18 games (16 starts).

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is back in the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Zach Eflin. The veteran backstop didn't start Sunday's series finale against the Rockies but did log a pinch-hit single in place of Andrew Knizer later on in the contest. From an overall standpoint, Contreras has more or less been as advertised in his first season with the Cardinals, hitting .252 with 11 homers, six stolen bases, and a .772 OPS across 95 appearances. That production is rather similar to his career .256 average and .803 OPS while his 116 wRC+ this season is just two points below his 118 career mark.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (head) is serving as the designated hitter and batting fifth for the Cards on Friday against Chicago Cubs right-hander Hayden Wesneski. Andrew Knizner is doing the catching and will hit eighth in the batting order. Contreras left Thursday's game early against the Cubs after Ian Happ's backswing caught him in the head and caused a scalp laceration. It's not a serious injury, so the 31-year-old won't miss a game. Fantasy managers will want to keep Contreras in their starting lineups. It's been a disappointing year for St. Louis as a whole, but Contreras has turned things around recently at the plate, going 19-for-43 (.442) with three home runs, six doubles, nine RBI and seven runs scored in 15 games in July.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (head) has a pretty good cut on the top of his head that doctors were able to glue, rather than stitch, together after he was hit by a backswing of Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ on Thursday. Contreras said he passed all of his concussion tests and his headache is mostly gone, so he should be able to play on Friday with a goalie-style mask. The 31-year-old was bleeding a fair amount before leaving, so it's really good news that he avoided a serious injury, and he may not have to miss any time at all. Still, fantasy managers should check back on Friday to see if he's active, and don't be surprised if the Cardinals play it safe and give him an extra day. Contreras has been hot in July, hitting .442 (19-for-43) with three homers, six doubles, nine RBI and seven runs in 14 games, so if he's back in there on Friday, get him back into your starting fantasy lineups.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (head) is considered day-to-day after exiting Thursday's game against the Chicago Cubs early with a scalp laceration. Cubs outfielder Ian Happ's backswing hit Contreras in the back of the head during the first inning, and he was immediately removed from Thursday's contest. The 31-year-old was replaced in the game by Andrew Knizner. Contreras' next chance to return will be Friday against the Cubs. Knizner would see an uptick in playing time if Contreras misses additional time. The 28-year-old is mainly an option in NL-Only leagues, slashing .226/.250/.419 with six home runs, 20 RBI, 19 runs, and a stolen base over 39 games in 2023.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (head) was hit by the backswing of Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ on Thursday and was forced to exit the game early. The swing knocked Contreras' mask off and there was a good amount of blood involved. Cardinals trainers put Contreras through the concussion protocol before exiting the field. The 31-year-old will surely miss some time after the scary injury, but it remains to be seen if he'll be forced to land on the injured list. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect to see Contreras in Friday's lineup against the division-rival Cubs. If he misses extended time, Andrew Knizner would see elevated playing time behind the dish. Contreras hasn't been terrible for the disappointing Cards this year, as he entered Thursday's contest hitting .248/.343/.429 with 11 homers, 22 doubles, 40 RBI, five steals and 37 runs in 87 games at the weak catcher position.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (hip) is returning to the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was pulled from Saturday's game due to hip tightness. He missed the next two games because of the issue. Luckily, it didn't cause him to go on the injured list. Contreras is behind the plate and batting fifth versus right-hander Merrill Kelly on Tuesday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.

St. Louis Cardinals backstop Willson Contreras (hip) is likely to return to the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against Merrill Kelly and the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com. The former Chicago Cub has missed the last two games after exiting Saturday with right hip discomfort. Contreras is putting up solid numbers during his first season with the Cards, slashing .244/.341/.428 with 11 homers, 37 runs, 40 RBI, and five steals across 86 games. Fantasy managers can go ahead and place the 31-year-old back in their starting lineups.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (hip) is not in the starting lineup for his team's Monday night game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Contreras left Saturday's game early with discomfort in his right hip and will be on the sidelines for his second consecutive contest. The Cardinals will start Andrew Knizner behind the plate on Monday as Contreras hopes to heal up in time to play on Tuesday. Contreras is hitting .244 with 11 homers, 36 runs, 40 RBI, and five steals in his first season in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (hip) was forced to exit early during Saturday's game against the Chicago Cubs. The 31-year-old was pulled after five innings due to right hip tightness. The organization considers him day-to-day, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect Contreras to land on the injured list. He might miss the rest of the weekend series, so Ivan Herrera could see a little more action over the next few days.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras will start on the bench on Wednesday as the team faces the Miami Marlins in the series finale. Ivan Herrera will take over behind the plate and hit sixth in the batting order against Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara. It's a good time for a rest for Contreras, as he went hitless in seven at-bats with four strikeouts in the first two games of the series against Miami. Despite the rough last two games, Contreras has picked things up in the month of July, going 13-for-30 (.433) with three home runs, four doubles, six RBI and six runs scored in nine games. He has had five multi-hit performances. The recent hot stretch has raised the 31-year-old's season slash line to .238/.331/.421. Contreras has added 11 home runs, 37 RBI, five steals and 36 runs scored in 290 at-bats in his first year in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Washington Nationals. This is just a day off the veteran catcher as Andrew Knizner is starting behind the plate and batting ninth against Josiah Gray in his place. The 31-year-old backstop is slashing .244/.336/.431 with 11 home runs, 37 RBI, and five stolen bases over 283 at-bats in his first season in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (mouth) is out of the lineup on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox. Contreras had a dental procedure earlier in the week and sat out of Friday's contest as well. Rookie Ivan Herrera is starting behind the plate and batting eighth against Touki Toussaint. Contreras has a chance to be back out there for the series finale on Sunday.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras went hitless in Monday's series opener against the San Francisco Giants, and he's now gone 5-for-59 in his last 18 games with only two home runs and three RBI. He's now hitting .201 on the year, 42 points lower than what he hit in 2022 and 36 points lower than his world MLB season (.237 in 2021). "I think I've lost my confidence and I lost my trust, and lost the trust that I came into the season with. It just went away," Contreras said. The 31-year-old backstop is behind the plate and is hitting fifth in the lineup on Tuesday against Giants right-hander Alex Cobb. Fantasy managers may want to keep Contreras on their benches until he shows some signs of life with the lumber.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is getting the day off on Sunday for an early 11:35 am first-pitch time against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 31-year-old might be glad to get the respite, as he's a frigid 2-for-36 over the last two weeks of action. Although, Contreras did go deep in Saturday's contest to help bust the skid. The three-time All-Star is hitting just .215 with 22 runs scored, six homers, and 26 RBI in his first year with St. Louis. Andrew Knizner takes over behind the dish and is batting ninth on Sunday.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras broke out on Thursday, crushing two three-run homers and racking up six RBI in a 16-8 demolition of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went 2-for-5 and added two runs. He is now hitting .256 with five homers, 21 runs, 24 RBI, and three steals. He raised his OPS from .732 to .772 with this performance. Although Contreras has been disappointing defensively, he has delivered at the plate for the Cardinals. He should remain a solid fantasy option at catcher with one of the highest floors at the position.

According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, catcher Willson Contreras will be behind the dish for Monday's meeting with the visiting Brewers. The veteran has been in the lineup, although he's been spending time at the designated hitter spot. However, with Wilson serving as the backstop versus Milwaukee, Andrew Knizner's fantasy value will fade.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher/designated hitter Willson Contreras had a solid game at the plate in Monday's 3-1 win over the Cubs. The long-time Cub went 2-for-4 with a single, a double, and two RBI. While the Cardinals as a whole have struggled mightily to start the season, the 30-year-old has not, slashing .273/.346/.405 with two home runs, 16 RBI, and two stolen bases. He may end up DH'ing more over the course of the season, but Contreras is a must-start at the catcher position in all fantasy leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth in his return to Wrigley Field on Monday to face the Chicago Cubs and right-hander Marcus Stroman. Meanwhile, backup catcher Andrew Knizner is doing the catching and will hit ninth in the batting order for the Cards. In his first year with St. Louis, Contreras has gotten off to a .265 start (31-for-117) with nine doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI, two stolen bases and 16 runs scored in 132 plate appearances and 33 games played. The Cardinals have gotten off to a terrible start so far in 2023, but Contreras needs to remain in starting fantasy lineups on a daily basis as one of the better hitting options at catcher.