ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - When Willson Contreras was injured after being struck by a swing from New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez in May, he was expected to miss 10 weeks of action while recovering from fracturing his arm in the incident.
Now he set to rejoin the Cardinals nearly a month ahead of schedule, with the Cardinals officially activating Contreras from the injured list Monday. As a corresponding move, the Cardinals optioned catcher Nick Raposo.
The return of Contreras this early is huge surprise given he was expected to miss 10 weeks, but his return is significantly much needed both in the lineup and behind the plate.
Before his injury, Contreras was unquestionably, the Cardinals best hitter, hitting a terrific .280/.380/.551 slash line with an OPS of .950 and six home runs in the 31 games he played.
Contreras' bat will be a huge addition to a lineup that hasn't been awful in his absence, posting a solid 109 Weighted Runs Created plus (wRC+), which is 11th-best in the majors, but it has been seen some injury trouble.
Outfielders Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman still remain out of the lineup with a return still a bit away, catcher Ivan Herrera was placed on the 10-day IL last week with back tightness, and Nolan Arenado and Michael Siani both left Saturday's win against the San Francisco Giants with left forearm discomfort and a rib injury, respectively.
The Cardinals injury troubles, especially at catcher, has seen Pedro Pages temporarily take over the starting catcher role in the absence of Contreras and Herrera. Pages have impressed behind the plate and has kind of shown a little bit of life with bat, hitting a .600 OPS in the month of June.
Alongside activating Contreras, the Cardinals also activated Nick Robertson off the injured list and optioned him back to Memphis.