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Is it possible Willson Contreras is actually a better defensive first baseman than his natural position of catcher?

Sure, it’s tricky to compare those two different positions — and he sure had a cannon behind the plate — but the fact we can even have this debate shows how impressive Contreras has played.

The story of the 2025 surprise Cardinals isn’t complete without Willson’s defense — for a team with starters who pitch to contact and an infield with some live arms, Contreras’ steadiness has been an anchor. Now, I don’t want to say he’s Gold Glove-esque, but he has been Goldschmidt-esque. The former first baseman Paul hadn’t won a Gold Glove since 2021 but still had some strong recent seasons playing his position.

And surely, some fans this winter asked the famous baseball question with the emphasis on the first word — ·É³ó´Ç’s on first?

Yup, the Cards were going with a catcher. But it’s worked.

Contreras and the Cards are currently at two defensive runs saved for the season — only six teams have a first base DRS total that’s higher.

“I think since the first day that they wanted me to move to first base, I took it as a challenge,� said the 33-year-old Contreras, who has hit .300 since April 18, but we’ll talk about his offense on another day. “And a lot of people thought that I couldn’t play first base. And right now, I feel that I’m enjoying every single second of it because I’m putting the work in, and I know that I’m doing my best over there.

“I know I’m not one of the best first baseman right now, but I’ll be at some point. That’s my goal. Besides that, just helping the team in any way I can. I know, for me, moving from home plate to first base created a lot of depth in the lineup. So that’s one of the reasons why we’re winning a lot this year.�

Indeed, Contreras at first has allowed Ivan Herrera and defensive-minded Pedro Pages get games behind the dish (and the budding hitter Herrera has also played his share of designated hitter).

Meanwhile, Contreras is pickin’ and slidin’ and ridin’ out first base like a pro. He’s only made two errors. And his outs above average rating is in the 92nd percentile on Baseball Savant. The guy is a baseball savant himself. What an athlete.

“His footwork is good, he moves around the bag extremely well, he gets to certain balls,� said manager Oliver Marmol, whose club was 36-29 entering Monday. “He’s athletic, turning the double play and getting back to the bag. I mean, all the way around, he’s moving very, very well.�

He’s not only making plays, but also erasing mistakes.

On Sunday against the Dodgers, young hurler Michael McGreevy was in a pickle. And this wasn’t like a little gherkin; this was a full-blown Kosher dill. McGreevy was already down 3-0 in the second inning. He had two outs, but there was a runner on third — and All-Star Mookie Betts was up (with All-Star Freddie Freeman on deck and All-Star Teoscar Hernandez in the hole).

Betts smacked one to the hole, shortstop Masyn Wynn scooped and threw … but way off target. As the Betts jetted to first, Contreras somehow keep a foot on the edge of the base, while stretching his left arm to capacity (it hurt to even watch). Contreras caught the ball, and Betts was ruled out — L.A. challenged the call, but it was for naught.

“It was funny,� McGreevy said. “Me and Teoscar locked eyes, and I gave him like a little please (pray hand sign). I got a laugh from him. But, you know, it’s just one of those plays where it could save your day. If that run comes across like who knows what would happen the rest of that inning? They’ve got the heart of the order coming up right there. So it was an awesome play to kind of help me reset. I think it really did make a difference.�

My Post-Dispatch teammate Daniel Guerrero pointed out that Contreras actually has replaced two Cardinals who have won Gold Gloves — Yadier Molina and Goldschmidt. And there were far more questions about Willie replacing Yadi than replacing Goldy.

“I have to point out the work being put in,â€� Marmol said. “End of the day, you get better by working — and he’s done exactly that. From his offseason to his spring training to, we’re in June, and you watch him out there (before games) — it’s just very detailed, but he’s having fun with it, right? Like, he’s out there with (Alec) Burleson. They’re playing games of ·É³ó´Ç’s going to bobble (first)? what like. There’s just intentionality to that — it looks like having fun, which it is, but there’s also an intentionality to being crisp and clean and on point, which has allowed that to kind of play into the game.â€�