Cardinals catcher offers concerning comments amid poor season

Willson Contreras grew into a Chicago Cubs legend as part of the 2016 team that won the franchise's first World Series since 1908. But times change, and now Contreras is the catcher for the rival St. Louis Cardinals and having the worst season of his career. 

Contreras is batting just .201, which is far worse than his .252 career average. Contreras told MLB.com that he's "looking for answers."

"I think I've lost my confidence," Contreras said. "I lost my trust and lost the trust that I came into the season with. It just went away."

Confidence is something that Contreras has rarely lacked in his career, but now he's 31 and in the first of a five-year, $87.5 million contract. To expound the pressure even further, he's replacing one of the greatest Cardinals catchers of all time, Yadier Molina. 

"It's been really hard, like a roller coaster," Contreras said. "I don't know if baseball is trying to show me something I'm not seeing, or maybe I just need to look at it a different way."

It's not just Contreras who's scuffling, the entire Cardinals team is in a tailspin. The Cards are currently 27-40 and have lost 10 of their last 13. However, Contreras has been a liability with his bat and glove. Contreras has committed three errors in 47 games behind the plate and has been relegated to DH 16 times this season due to his subpar defense and poor chemistry with the pitching staff. 

Perhaps there will be light at the end of the tunnel for Contreras, but there doesn't seem to be an easy fix. While Contreras has had a bit of bad luck and his expected batting average (xBA) resides at .246, it doesn't change the fact he's really close to dipping below the "Mendoza Line" of .200. 

This type of production isn't what the Cardinals thought they were signing up for, but they'll have to live with it for better and worse because Contreras is locked in contractually until 2027.