Former Chicago Cubs Slugger Endures Fracture, Return Unknown

Former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras suffered a fractured forearm during his game with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Contreras broke in with the Chicago Cubs in 2016 and played on their World Series championship team. He played his first seven Major League seasons with the Cubs before he moved on to the Cardinals.

The 31-year-old suffered the injury in the second inning as New York Mets slugger J.D. Martinez hit Contreras’ forearm with a swing. He was in obvious pain afterward. Cardinals trainers came out to tend to him and then St. Louis removed him from the game.

He has been diagnosed with a fracture in his left forearm and it’s not clear how long he will be out.

The Venezuelan native was off to a great start at the plate, as he slashed .280/.398/.551/.949 in 31 games with six home runs and 12 RBI.

Contreras initially started working out at the Cubs’ Venezuelan academy at age 16 and signed when he was 17 in 2009.

He made his Major League debut on June 19, 2016, and became one of a handful of players to hit a home run in their first MLB at-bat. He batted .282 in 76 games with 12 home runs and 35 RBI.

Contreras became the Cubs’ Opening-Day catcher in 2017 and remained a mainstay behind the plate for the next six seasons. He made the All-Star Game in 2018, 2019 and 2022. In seven seasons with Chicago he slashed .256/.349/.459/.808 with 143 home runs and 444 RBI.

In his first season with St. Louis in 2023 he slashed .264/.358/.467/.826 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI after he signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Cardinals.