St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (soreness) is starting at first base and is batting cleanup for Monday's series opener against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Zack Littell at Busch Stadium. Contreras was hit by two pitches in Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers and got the series finale off on Sunday due to general soreness. He's back in the lineup on Monday, though, against a pitcher he's gone 1-for-4 against in his career. The 33-year-old Venezuelan will hope to keep it up in September, as he's gone 7-for-24 so far in the month with a triple, five RBI, and three runs scored in seven games. The three-time All-Star and former catcher has reached the 20-homer mark in 2025 for the sixth time in his 10 MLB seasons and has also driven in a career-high 79 runs in 134 games in his third year in St. Louis.

Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, it sounds as though St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras' six-game suspension has been reduced to four games. Contreras will begin serving his four-game suspension on Friday night and will not be available for the series opener versus the visiting San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium. He will not be eligible to return to the field until the second game of the series next Tuesday in Seattle against the Mariners. The 33-year-old veteran was tossed out of a game on Aug. 25 against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he tossed his bat, which ended up hitting the home-plate umpire. Alec Burleson (wrist) is currently on the injured list, so it's possible we'll see Nolan Gorman shift to first base, with Cesar Prieto or Jose Fermin starting at third this weekend.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras has received a six-game suspension for his on-field actions during Monday's game. Contreras was also handed an undisclosed fine. The veteran slugger has decided to appeal his suspension, which means he will play on Tuesday against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates. Contreras is allowed to continue playing until the league makes their final decision. The assumption is that the league will make a decision within the next week or so. Until then, fantasy managers can continue to plug Contreras into their starting lineups.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (foot) and outfielder Lars Nootbaar (cramps) are both in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener on the road against the Miami Marlins and right-hander Eury Perez. Contreras is at first and is batting cleanup, while Nootbaar is in right field and will hit leadoff. Contreras will return after missing the last four games, while Nootbaar sat out of Sunday's series finale against the New York Yankees after being pulled from Saturday's contest due to muscle cramps. Contreras has a hit in just two career at-bats against Perez, while Nootbaar is hitless in his three at-bats. Contreras has gone 7-for-29 (.241) with two home runs, a double and four RBI in 10 games in the month of August, while Nootbaar is hitting .286 (12-for-42) with a homer, three doubles and four RBI in 11 games in August.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (foot) remains out of the lineup on Saturday against the New York Yankees. Alec Burleson will play first and bat second against left-handed ace Max Fried. Contreras hasn't played since he took a pitch off the right foot on Tuesday and had to leave early in a 3-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that Conteras was doing better, but he was still sore. It doesn't seem like this is anything more than a day-to-day injury, so perhaps Contreras will return Sunday.UPDATE: If Contreras' pre-game workout goes well, he could serve as a pinch-hitter on Saturday or start in the series finale on Sunday, according to Marmol.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (foot) remains out of the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting New York Yankees at Busch Stadium. Contreras was hit by a pitch on his foot on Tuesday and missed Wednesday's contest before having a scheduled day off on Thursday. It's merely a day-to-day injury for the 33-year-old former catcher, but he'll miss a second straight game. Alec Burleson is starting at first base and is batting third against Yankees right-hander Luis Gil. Contreras has gone hitless in each of his last three games and is batting .241 (7-for-29) for the month with two home runs, a double, four RBI and five runs scored in 10 games played. Check back on Saturday to see if he's ready to return to first-base duties. Burleson has never faced Gil in his career.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman/designated hitter Willson Contreras (foot) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Alec Burleson will man first and bat cleanup, and Nolan Gorman will DH and hit fifth in a meeting with left-hander Austin Gomber. Contreras had to exit Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Rockies early after taking a pitch off the right foot, but he was diagnosed with a bruise and shouldn't miss significant time. The 33-year-old has put together another quality offensive season, having slashed .255/.344/.443 with 16 homers, 65 RBI, 57 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 472 trips to the plate.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (foot) exited Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Rockies after being hit by a pitch in his right foot. Contreras was plunked in the fourth inning, and he stayed in the game until the sixth inning, when he was replaced defensively by Nolan Gorman. The team reported the injury as a right foot bruise. Contreras went 0-for-1 with the hit-by-pitch before exiting. Fantasy managers should look for further updates in the coming days to get a better idea of whether Contreras may have to miss time. The 33-year-old has produced offensively while transitioning to first base this season, slashing .255/.344/.443 with 16 home runs, 65 RBI, and four stolen bases in 472 plate appearances.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (illness) is feeling better on Friday and is starting at first base and hitting third in the series opener at Busch Stadium against the division-rival Chicago Cubs and left-hander Matthew Boyd. Contreras was held out of Wednesday's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodger and then had an off day on Thursday. He's feeling better now and will take the field against the tough lefty Boyd, who he has hit only .091 in 11 at-bats against. The 33-year-old former catcher has hit well against southpaws in 2025, though, and is slashing .258/.343/.451 with a .794 OPS, 16 home runs, 64 RBI, 57 runs and four stolen bases in 399 at-bats on the year. Contreras has gone 5-for-17 with a double, two home runs, three RBI and five runs in only five games so far in the month of August.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (illness) is out of action on Wednesday against the hosting Los Angeles Dodgers in the series finale with a stomach bug, according to John Denton of MLB.com. Contreras could be available to pinch hit late in the game. Alec Burleson is starting at first base and is in the three-hole against Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani. It will be Contreras' first day off since July 4, but he should be ready to return to the lineup for a divisional clash on Friday against the Chicago Cubs after another off day on Thursday. So far in five games in August, Burleson has gone 2-for-18 with two RBI and two runs scored. The 26-year-old left-handed hitter has slashed .278/.332/.450 on the season with 14 home runs, 50 RBI, 39 runs and four steals in 353 at-bats. He's hitless in just two career at-bats against Ohtani.

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (finger) and first baseman Willson Contreras (hand, wrist) are back in the team's lineup for the start of a three-game set with the hosting Chicago Cubs. Arenado sprained his finger over the weekend and had to miss the Cards' previous two games, but he'll rejoin the squad ahead of a critical series with Chicago and bat sixth. Contreras, on the other hand, was plunked by a pitch in Tuesday's outing against the Pirates and missed just one contest with a contusion. He'll operate from the four-hole and across the diamond from Arenado at first base. Christian Encarnacion-Strand will take a seat with the two returning.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (hand/wrist) will sit out the final game of his team's three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon. This is an expected absence after Contreras was hit by a pitch on Tuesday night. Thankfully for him and the team X-rays on the injury came back clean. The Cardinals have an off day on Thursday before a crucial three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, so the hope is surely that Contreras can return at some point this weekend. Alec Burleson is starting at first base in his place in Wednesday's contest against Pittsburgh.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (hand) underwent X-rays, and the team has diagnosed him with bruising. The X-rays did not show any fracture. He is being called "day-to-day," Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Contreras got hit in the hand by a Paul Skenes fastball in the fourth inning of Tuesday's contest and left the game. The good news is that there appears to be no structural damage, and the plan is to rest and allow the bruising to subside before returning to action. The Cardinals wrap up their three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday with an off day on Thursday before a weekend series against the division-rival Chicago Cubs. Garrett Hampson entered the game at first base in Contreras' absence.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (hand) said he is doubtful for Wednesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports. Contreras exited Tuesday's 1-0 loss after taking a 99.3 mph fastball from Pirates ace Paul Skenes off the left hand in the fourth inning. X-rays came back negative, but it'll take Contreras at least another couple of days to return. The Cardinals are off on Thursday, but Contreras could be back in the lineup Friday against the Chicago Cubs.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (hand) exited the team's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday after taking a Paul Skenes fastball off the left hand in the fourth inning. X-rays came back negative on Contreras, who's "day-to-day," according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals replaced him at first base with Alec Burleson and brought Garrett Hampson in to play right field. Contreras has been hit a league-high 13 times this year, and he missed the end of August and all of September last season after suffering a fractured finger on an HBP. While Contreras avoided a major injury in this instance, it's possible he could miss some time. Contreras has recovered from a slow start to the season to slash a respectable .248/.340/.432 with 11 homers, 51 RBI, 42 runs scored, and four stolen bases over 348 plate appearances.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras put together a nice day at the plate during the first game of the doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Contreras would kick off the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the opening frame. He was fairly quiet for the rest of the game until blasting a two-run home run in the eighth inning. That two-run blast would tie the game as the Cardinals would eventually win this game 5-4. Contreras went 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and a walk in the win. The veteran catcher has really picked up his play over the last few weeks.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras clutched up in the bottom of the 10th inning on Thursday, delivering an RBI single that gave the Cards a 6-5 win in Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals. Contreras also doubled, walked, and scored a run to round out a nice game at the plate. It hasn't been a great season for the veteran backstop, but he has held his own. The 33-year-old now holds a .250 average and .719 OPS to go with 28 runs, six homers, and 36 RBI. Contreras remains a must-start player in fantasy, even with the mediocre stat line since he holds catcher eligibility.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (back) is returning to the team's lineup on Monday for their road matchup with the Baltimore Orioles. The veteran had missed the last three contests with back spasms, but he'll return for their series opener with the Orioles and bat fourth. Before the slight hiccup, Contreras had been rolling in May, boasting a .299 average (20-for-67), with 11 runs scored, 16 RBI, three home runs, four doubles, and a 7:17 BB:K ratio. The 33-year-old has really turned it around after a dismal start, and holds a strong .272 xBA, so his batting line should continue to climb as we head into the summer months.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (back) remains out of the starting nine on Sunday when they conclude a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Contreras was scratched from the starting nine on Friday evening due to back spasms. Before his injury, Contreras held a solid .256/.286/.410 slash line with three doubles, one home run, and an 11:1 K:BB over his last 10 contests. This afternoon, Alec Burleson will get the nod at first base and is slated to bat in the five-hole. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status leading up to their next contest on Monday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. Through his first 49 games this season, Contreras has held a .250/.332/.397 line. This afternoon, Burleson is a viable target in DFS facing Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (back) will remain out of action for Saturday's contest at Busch Stadium against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. Alec Burleson will make another start at first base and will hit fifth against Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly. Contreras was scratched from the series opener against Arizona on Friday due to back spasms, and he's obviously not feeling good enough to return the following day. It's something to keep an eye on with the 33-year-old former catcher, but for now, he's being considered day-to-day. Check back to see if he's available for the series opener on Sunday. Burleson has swung the bat well all year and is hitting .333 (15-for-45) with four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI, a steal and five runs scored in 16 games in May. He'll be looking for his first knock against Kelly, as he's gone 0-for-3 against him so far in his career.