Willson Contreras is heading back to his familiar perch behind the plate for Monday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo.
The Cardinals made the shocking decision last week to remove Contreras from catching in the first season of a five-year, $87.5-million contract.
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol believes Contreras has already made enough strides to move back behind the plate.
"We felt really good about the progress that we've made, and it lines up really well for him to catch on Monday with Jack (Flaherty) on the mound," Marmol said, according to MLB.com's John Denton.
Flaherty apparently advocated for Contreras to be his catcher.
"This is what they wanted," Marmol said. "They both wanted it. ... And we felt really good about lining it up that way with all the progress that we've made."
Monday will mark Contreras' first start behind the plate since a May 4 contest against the Los Angeles Angels. Flaherty was the starting pitcher and was rocked to the tune of 10 runs on nine hits over just 2 1/3 innings.
Despite that bumpy outing, Flaherty is looking forward to having Contreras back behind the plate.
"I love having (Contreras) back there, and he gives you confidence with that competitiveness he has," Flaherty said. "I’m looking forward to it, it'll be fun, and he and I attacked Milwaukee before."
