PITTSBURGH – The difficult part for a rookie catcher is supposed to be asserting his will and showing his true personality. And then there’s Willson Contreras, the fist-pumping, chest-pounding Cub who told The Des Moines Register he never planned to go back to Triple-A Iowa and has already given a Chicago reporter the “Next question” response during a postgame interview.
“He has no qualms about that,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s demonstrated that he’s fearless. I really get that from him. He’s not intimidated by playing in the major leagues at all. He definitely believes he belongs here.”
Maddon loved the way Contreras got in Jeff Francoeur’s airspace after a fastball buzzed inside late Thursday night at Wrigley Field, jawing with the Atlanta Braves veteran who made his big-league debut 11 years ago. That ninth-inning spark at home plate cleared both benches and bullpens – the Braves had already drilled Kris Bryant (twice) and Anthony Rizzo – almost starting a brawl long after a 95-minute rain delay in a game Atlanta would finally win on Friday morning.
“Oh yeah, absolutely, I think it’s great,” Maddon said. “Not often you’re going to see a rookie stand his ground as well as he did. But not surprising at all.”
That’s why the Cubs believe Contreras can work with Jon Lester against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night at PNC Park, even if it’s a forced arrangement while the $155 million pitcher’s personal catcher (David Ross) remains on the seven-day concussion disabled list.
“Willy’s done a great job,” said Lester, an All-Star lefty coming off the shortest start of his career after throwing to Ross during last weekend’s 14-3 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field. “We’ve all kind of watched him pretty closely and seen how he’s handled everything.
“The guy went out and played left field and never played left field before. We had to find him a first-base glove to play first base the other day, so it seems like he takes everything in full stride.
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“You see that passion that he has. He wants to play. He wants to do well. You can tell when he’s back behind the plate that he cares about his game.
“I’m looking forward to it. It should be good to get Rossy out of there for a change and try something new.”
This will be a relationship worth monitoring with Ross now 39 and signaling this will be his last season, Lester locked up through 2020 and Contreras seen as a potential frontline catcher. Every opponent, Cubs fans and the media are aware of Lester’s issues throwing to first base and how Ross can help minimize the damage.
“Willson’s a quick study,” Maddon said. “With Jon, part of what we’re trying to do is control the running game, and I think Willson absolutely controls the running game.
“It’s something that you could absolutely see in the future.”
The Cubs would prefer Lester and Contreras trying to develop some chemistry here instead of being thrown together for the first time in a crucial late-season game.
“Looking at all of this, the tribulations we’re going through right now,” Maddon said, “I think there’s long-term dividends attached to all this stuff, a lot of the young guys getting more at-bats than we had thought at this time of the year, guys like Contreras being force-fed into a more significant moment in July as opposed to maybe in September.
“It’s just going to benefit him and us. I really believe he can do it, first of all. There’s no doubt, because Jon knows what he wants to do out there, too. And I’ve already talked to David about giving a tutorial to Willy regarding what Jon likes to do, and maybe does not like to do. There’s so many positives attached to this.”
Imagine how Contreras might express himself once he’s an established leader, and not someone who got called up last month.
“I always think about my team,” Contreras said. “I feel a lot more comfortable. It’s getting better. And now I just want to keep learning about the game.”