Chicago Cubs’ Contreras Faces Lots Of Questions, Including 2022 Salary

With Willson Contreras, the big question is where will he be in August?

But Contreras’ plight in his sixth season with the Cubs is even more confusing. Memorial Day approaches and Contreras doesn’t even know what he will be paid in 2022.

As a result of Major League Baseball’s lockout, Contreras’ arbitration case hasn’t yet been heard. He’s asking for $10.25 million, the Cubs have offered $9 million and the hearing is set for June.

This is the third year in a row that Contreras has filed for arbitration. The sides were able to reach an agreement the previous two years — the two-time All-Star catcher was paid $4.5 million in 2020 and $6.65 million last season — all bets seem off between the Cubs and their players as the team de-constructs the team that went to the postseason five years in a run of six seasons.

Contreras, Jason Heyward and Kyle Hendricks are the last holdover players from the team that beat Cleveland in the 2016 World Series. Heyward is signed through 2023 but seems likely to be released before the deal ends. The extension Hendricks signed three years ago runs through ’23 with an option for ’24. He’s 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA in nine starts this season, an inconsistent performance that won’t help his trade value before the August 2 deadline.

Having held a fire sale on their most marketable players a season ago — Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo were the headliners in a blur of eight deals in 16 days — and having started this season 17-24, it’s easy to imagine Cubs President Jed Hoyer and Chairman Tom Ricketts being open to more dealing this summer.

Contreras, who hit his 100th career home run on May 16, seems as eager to explore free agency as Bryant, Baez and Rizzo were after entering their walk season without a long-term contract. He would hit the market at age 30 having been the primary catcher on teams featuring Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, Marcus Stroman and Hendricks.

Hoyer signed veteran catcher Yan Gomes in the off-season, presumably to serve as a replacement for the moment he receives a strong offer on Contreras. Miguel Amaya, who has been groomed as Contreras’ long-term replacement, underwent Tommy John surgery in November and has lost a year of development.

The presence of Gomes has allowed Contreras to rotate between catching and the designated hitter spot, and he’s off to a strong start at the plate. He’s hit five homers in 120 at-bats, building a slash line of .258/.382/.458 despite a cold, wet Midwest spring. He is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury that isn’t expected to require an Injured List stint but has a track record for reliable health, playing at least 105 games every full season he’s been on the roster.

Switch-hitting outfielder Ian Happ and 32-year-old shortstop Andrelton Simmons look like the only other position players likely to be shopped before the trade deadline. But in left-handers Wade Miley and Drew Smyly, along with late-inning relievers David Robertson and Mychal Givens, the Cubs may be able to add to the haul of prospects they received from 2021 trades.

Six of the Cubs’ 20 best prospects, as ranked by MLB.com, were acquired in the wave of trades that began when Hoyer sent Darvish to San Diego in December, 2021. The Darvish deal was the first of 15 trades, non-tenders or releases of players earning a combined $149.3 million.

The Cubs’ Opening Day roster has dropped about $60 million since 2019 (from $203 million to $143 million). It plummeted below $100 million after the mid-season trades a year ago and could do the same this year.

Any other time, it would be hard to believe one of baseball’s flagship franchises could be this deep into the season while contesting a $1.25-million difference in salary of its starting catcher. But given everything that has transpired the last two years at Wrigley Field, nobody is even blinking at the uncertainty of Contreras’ situation.