The St. Louis Cardinals swung big for their Yadier Molina replacement.
Willson Contreras is signing a five-year, $87.5 million contract with the Cardinals, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed. He’ll take over as the team’s catcher after Molina was a staple behind the plate for St. Louis the last 19 years. The 40-year-old Molina retired after the 2022 season.
Contreras, 30, was a three-time All-Star over seven seasons with the rival Cubs, including in 2022, when he hit .243 with an .815 OPS, 22 home runs and 55 RBIs in 113 games.
During his rookie season in 2016, Contreras was part of the curse-breaking Cubs team that won a World Series for the first time in 108 years. He has 117 career home runs with 365 RBIs.
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Contreras’ average salary of $17.5 million is the fourth-highest among catchers behind J.T. Realmuto ($23.1 million,) Salvador Perez ($20.5 million) and Yasmani Grandal ($18.25 million).
Molina was a 10-time All-Star, nine-time Gold Glove winner and won two World Series titles with the Cardinals. He had a career .277 batting average with 176 home runs and 1,022 RBIs.
