(Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals were left holding their breath on Thursday when catcher Willson Contreras exited the game against the Toronto Blue Jays after taking a 103-mph fastball from Jordan Hicks off the knee.
After the game, Contreras underwent X-rays on his knee, which came back negative.
Still, he was set for an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury.
Fortunately, everything seems to be okay for the Cardinals new backstop.
According to MLB.com writer John Denton, the MRI came back clean and Contreras appears to have avoided a serious injury.
However, the Cardinals are still being cautious and plan to run some more tests on his knee.
Just as the X-rays on his right knee came back negative, Willson Contreras’ MRI was clean, #STLCards manager Oli Marmol said today.
The Cards catcher, who took a sinker off the shin guard, appears to have avoided serious injury, but the team is doing more testing on the knee.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) March 31, 2023
Cardinals fans can now breathe a collective sigh of relief.
While Contreras may need a day or two to recover fully, it appears that he will not need any time on the injured list and should be good to go soon.
All of Busch Stadium went completely quiet when the veteran catcher took the fastball off of his knee, as it brought back memories of a moment in 2018, when Yadier Molina took a Hicks fastball to the groin and was forced to miss an entire month.
Fortunately, Contreras seems to have avoided suffering the same fate as Molina five years ago.
Andrew Knizner replaced the 2016 World Series champion after his exit and may get the start behind the plate on Saturday, when the Cards continue their three-game set against the star-studded Blue Jays.
They’ll have to deal with Kevin Gausman on Saturday and Chris Bassitt on Sunday.
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