NEWSLETTER
We strongly suspected that the Cubs had entered the offseason with a plan either to extend Willson Contreras or trade him. We know that, by late November, the Cubs hadn’t even started extension talks with Contreras. We know that the Cubs also signed Yan Gomes before the lockout began, a guy who is either one of the best back-ups in the league, or really more of a 1B type starting catcher. You might think it’s easy to draw a conclusion from those data points.
But the thing, the lockout just kinda messed up everyone’s conception of timelines and planning. To be sure, we all knew the lockout was coming back in November, with the CBA expiring on December 1. But what was not clear at the time was how long the lockout would last, or how abbreviated the post-lockout transaction and Spring Training periods would be.
Well, it turns out that the transaction period before Spring Training was all of two days, and Spring Training, itself, is going to be well under four weeks. That’s not a lot of time to get back into things with your long-time star catcher, engage with the market in possible trade talks, and figure out whether there’s a move that makes sense when coordinated with everything else you are feverishly trying to pull off. Teams want to have their starting catchers in camp with their pitching staff for a long time. There are relationships to build, mechanics to understand, game calls to suss out, and so on and so on. If you want your pitching staff at its best out of the gate, then having that long period to establish a working relationship with the catcher(s) is key. That’s why you just don’t see all that many huge trades involving starting catchers in Spring Training or even at the Trade Deadline.
So that’s the background for where things stand on Willson Contreras, a guy a lot of us would prefer the Cubs seriously try to extend on a reasonable deal, and on whom the team may no longer have a serious opportunity to talk trades.
For his part, though, Contreras says those extension talks still haven’t started, and although he’s open to it, he’d rather not have those talks in-season. Furthermore, if it comes to it, he’s looking forward to free agency:
Willson Contreras says there have been no contract extension talks with the #Cubs.
Contreras, a free agent after the season, is “always open” for an extension though doesn’t think he’d want those talks to happen in season. pic.twitter.com/8XNYvAKpP1
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 13, 2022
…”because I started as a third baseman, coming all the way through the minor leagues, being converted to catcher and earning my spot as a Chicago Cubs catcher.
“It would be fun to have that experience.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) March 13, 2022
Contreras on same contract status as Rizzo-Baez-KB in ‘21 and seeing them traded in July:
“Those things were in my head before I got here. Obviously, it happened last year; it can happen this year.
“Whatever happens in the middle of the year is going to happen. Life goes on.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) March 13, 2022
Here’s Willson Contreras, on extension talks with Cubs. He’ll be eligible for free agency after this season. Said going to free agency, given his career path and beginnings, could be “a dream come true.” pic.twitter.com/gF8CQQ1L17
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 13, 2022
A pretty understandable position from Contreras, especially after what happened with so many of his teammates last year. If extension talks never get serious, well, then reaching free agency SHOULD feel like a dream come true for any player who makes it that far.
Typically, extension talks with someone like Contreras often happen around the exchange of arbitration figures … which, of course, didn’t happen this year in January as usual. Instead, it’s happening in a couple weeks, only just before the season begins (the hearings, if necessary, are going to extend into the season, as weird as that is). We’ll see if that’s enough time to even have those talks, if that’s something the Cubs really want to dig in on, or whether they will explore a trade. That last one would have to be an ASAP situation for the reasons discussed above. And, because of the timeline, it strikes me as pretty unlikely.
In fact, as un-fun as it is, by far the most likely outcome here is that Contreras – like Kris Bryant, Javy Báez, and Anthony Rizzo before him – enters his walk year without a new deal, and then the Cubs re-evaluate the situation come July.
One thing is always for sure with Willson Contreras. Dude wants to win, above everything else:
Does Contreras need to know Cubs' plan for next few years?
"I'm all about to win," he said. "And I wish that I can get at least one more ring in my career. … I'm a winner. I consider myself a winner. Like I've said, I'll do my best for the Cubs. I'll do my best for any team."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 13, 2022
