Contreras going all-in to learn Cards’ staff

JUPITER, Fla. — When Team Venezuela opens its World Baseball Classic schedule Saturday evening in Miami, Willson Contreras will probably be watching.

The catcher opted to skip the Classic after signing with the Cardinals this offseason, intent on utilizing each second in camp to be taught his new pitching workers following a seven-year stint with the division-rival Cubs.

“I’m focused on learning my pitching staff, learning my team, doing everything that I can to make this team a little better,” Contreras stated. “I will be watching some games; they’re doing really good, so hopefully they will go far this year.”

The resolution to withdraw his title from WBC consideration was Contreras’ and his alone. The Cardinals group has 17 gamers competing within the occasion, however Contreras instructed St. Louis proper after he signed that he can be staying in Jupiter for the whole spring.

“I think he made that super clear,” Cardinals supervisor Oliver Marmol stated. “Being here to know his teammates and organization is the most important thing and it’s benefited everybody a ton. I appreciated him making that decision, because it does allow for him to download a lot more of the stuff we do here. He’s been unbelievable.”

Contreras spoke with Venezuela’s supervisor, Omar López, this winter to tell López of his plans, saying the 2 of them had been “on the same page” and that López “respected my decision.” He is aware of others weren’t as understanding about his alternative, however Contreras hopes to play within the Classic when it comes round once more in 2026.

“Probably some players and some people didn’t like it, but everybody has their priorities,” Contreras stated. “I’m not saying Venezuela is not a priority because it is my country, but this is a whole new team and I need to spend more time with them here than playing in the WBC.”

The technique of studying the St. Louis pitching workers started lengthy earlier than Contreras arrived in Jupiter. The catcher started digging into video of the Cardinals’ arms shortly after signing his five-year, $87.5 million deal in early December.

Since the beginning of camp, Contreras has spent important time attending to know his pitchers each on and off the sector. He’s caught them at practically each alternative, sat down with them to be taught what makes them tick and damaged down the way in which they wish to assault sure hitters.

“You get a little better insight once you start playing with them; you see how they act, how they go through their business, how they talk,” Contreras stated. “You have to find the right way to say stuff. The first time that I caught everybody, I was trying to learn and to listen to them. Now that I have an idea of what makes him good and what gets them locked in, and I can say some things that can get them back in line.”

Contreras has even provided his perception into what opposing hitters are considering once they face them. After all, as a member of the NL Central for his whole profession, Contreras has loads of expertise in opposition to the likes of Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright, taking at the very least 19 at-bats in opposition to every starter.

“We’ll have conversations about, ‘What would you look for? What did you see when I was good versus other games where I may have struggled?’” Flaherty stated. “You have those talks and figure things out. It’s interesting seeing it from a guy who faced us a lot over the years. Just knowing different approaches from their team, you just find different things to learn.”

“I think that’s helpful,” Marmol stated. “It does give you a little bit of an advantage being on the side of prepping for that as a hitter, then prepping with the pitcher. There’s some insights that you can impart there.”

The Cardinals’ season opener in opposition to the Blue Jays is quickly approaching, giving Contreras and his new workers just a few extra weeks to organize earlier than the video games depend. The 30-year-old will take a while to observe his native Venezuela within the WBC this week, nevertheless it received’t get in his means of creating positive he’s able to go come March 30.

“The coaches and the players are making it easier,” Contrera stated. “They’ve been nice to me, they’ve been asking a lot of questions and getting to know a new pitching staff. They have a really good idea of what they want to do and that’s something that I was looking forward to. It’s been a great experience overall.”