Cardinals' Willson Contreras Injures Arm in Catcher's Interference Incident

St. Louis' plan to help Willson Contreras get more low strike calls from umpires backfired in the worst way.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras is looked at by the team's medical staff. / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras exited Tuesday's game against the New York Mets after taking the full force of a swing from J.D. Martinez to the left forearm. Contreras was diagnosed with a fractured left arm and will need a lengthy stay on the injured list as a result.

Contreras was visibly in pain as the Cardinals' medical staff attended to his arm. To make matters worse, the play was ruled as catcher's interference, meaning Martinez was awarded first base.

Replay of the incident showed that Contreras was positioned remarkably close to Martinez. According to John Denton of MLB.com, the team had encouraged Contreras to move closer to the plate as a means of getting more low strike calls from umpires. With Contreras positioning himself particularly close to the plate, he put himself in harm’s way of Martinez’s swing, resulting in Tuesday's scary arm injury.

In an attempt to help catcher Willson Contreras get more low strikes, the #STLCards have him moved up closer to the plate. However, JD Martinez's bat hit Contreras on the left forearm during his swing.

Contreras is out of the game. He was in obvious pain, yelling out right away. pic.twitter.com/0XCgzBQG0D

— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) May 8, 2024

Iván Herrera replaced Contreras, who had doubled in his lone plate appearance of the game. On the season, Contreras has six home runs and 12 RBI to go with a .931 OPS.