Willson Contreras has thought a lot about his priorities in free agency. As he likes to say, he’s only human.
“I want to be somewhere that I’m wanted,” the Cubs catcher said Tuesday, “and to feel like they’re going to appreciate what I can do on the field and off the field. A place that appreciates what I bring to the clubhouse and what I can do.”
Returning from a sprained left ankle and a stint on the 10-day injured list in time for the final homestand was important to Contreras, and he achieved it Tuesday when the team reinstated him and made him the designated hitter for the series opener against the Phillies at Wrigley Field. (He went 1-for-3.)
He has said goodbye to Cubs fans before, during the last homestand before the trade deadline, when he was expected to be dealt for prospects. That didn’t happen. But as his final season of club control has wound down, it has seemed more and more likely that this week’s homestand is the real farewell.
Engulfed in a swarm of reporters before the game Tuesday, Contreras left open the possibility of a return.
“We don’t know if this is a real goodbye, or just a moment — for a few months,” he said. “But I’m just looking forward to going out there, having fun with my teammates. And that’s what I can do at this point.”
He added that if the Cubs presented him with a qualifying offer, he and his reps would “have to consider it.”
The Cubs are indeed expected to present a qualifying offer because if Contreras turns it down and signs with another team, they’ll receive draft-pick compensation. But Contreras isn’t expected to consider it for long. The qualifying offer is a one-year deal determined by the mean salary of MLB’s 125 highest-paid players. Last year it was $18.4 million.
The stability of a multi-year deal could be more valuable, especially for a 30-year-old catcher. Even before the season, Contreras — now a three-time All-Star — said testing the market would be “a dream come true” if a contract extension never came to fruition.
“I know what I want, for sure,” he said Tuesday. “But at the same time, I don’t control the market. So the market will speak for itself, and we will adjust to it.”
Contreras has been upfront this season about the Cubs’ chances of competing, suggesting the front office will have to be active to open a championship window.
“It’s still the same,” Contreras said Tuesday. “I know we have future. I know we have a really good farm system. But instead of getting close to winning, we still are going to have a lot of work to do. I’m being honest. I know we have a lot of pitching staff in the farm system. And still, this thing’s going to need some balance like we had in 2016.
“We had older veterans, we had a lot of young talent. So that balance creates a good chemistry. That balance creates guys that can guide the younger talents or can be their support. And that’s something that they probably are looking forward to for the next year or even . . . I don’t know how long it’s going to take.”
Contreras has been that kind of veteran this season, with rookies Christopher Morel, Nelson Velazquez and others gushing about his influence on them. But this last week of the season is likely the end.
For real this time.
