Central STL News

Willson Contreras, the St. Louis Cardinals' home run leader this season, began serving a four-game suspension on Friday after Major League Baseball reduced his original six-game penalty following an appeal. The suspension stems from an incident on August 25, when Contreras was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, then threw his bat and a bucket of gum onto the field.

Contreras will miss the weekend series against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium as well as Monday’s game against the Seattle Mariners in Seattle. In addition to the suspension, he received an undisclosed fine for his actions.

The initial six-game suspension was issued by MLB after Contreras used vulgar language and made contact with umpire Derek Thomas following a disputed strike three call. According to league findings, "Contreras was also fined an undisclosed amount for his actions." After being ejected, Contreras charged at Thomas but was restrained by manager Oliver Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso. During the altercation, he flung his bat toward the umpire; it struck hitting coach Brant Brown on the forearm. Brown did not sustain serious injury.

On Friday, the Cardinals made additional roster moves by activating catcher Yohel Pozo from the 7-day concussion injured list and optioning infielder César Prieto to Triple-A Memphis.

Contreras transitioned from catcher to first base before this season. He has posted a .254 batting average with a .338 on-base percentage and .448 slugging percentage across 130 games, including 30 doubles and 78 RBIs. In Wednesday night’s win over Oakland, he went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs.