Cardinals reportedly shut down veteran catcher after injury scare

On Saturday, during their game against the Minnesota Twins, the St. Louis Cardinals were dealt a tough blow when Willson Contreras was hit on the hand with a pitch from Pablo Lopez.

The Cardinals placed him on the 10-Day injured list on Sunday and recalled catcher Ivan Herrera. There is no timetable for a return.

Following their 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres, Cardinals insider Katie Woo provided another update on the veteran catcher.

"Willson Contreras will be shut down for three weeks/no impact on his broken hand," Woo tweeted. "The Cardinals will ramp him up accordingly after that. With five weeks left in the season, the runaway for his return is very short."

In all likelihood, Contreras will be done for the season. This is the second time he has been placed on the injured list this season. He previously missed several weeks after being hit on the forearm by J.D. Martinez's backswing in May.

For now, he'll be shut down completely, and with so little time left in the season, a return seems unlikely. The 32-year-old was hitting .262 with 15 home runs, 36 RBI, and a team-leading .848 OPS.

This comes at the worst possible time for the Cardinals, who are fighting for their postseason lives and slipping in the standings. The offense has plagued them all season long.

But it does appear that the Cardinals are going to be without their best hitter for quite some time. It will be interesting to see how the team handles Contreras being shut down and if they'll try to bring him back in late September.

By that point, it might be too late, as the Cardinals may already be eliminated from postseason contention. They are six games back in the National League Wild Card race and 10 1/2 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

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