The Cardinals reportedly eliminated experienced catcher after injury scare

On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals suffered a heavy blow during their game against the Minnesota Twins when Willson Contreras was hit in the hand by a pitch from Pablo Lopez.

The Cardinals placed him on the 10-day injured list on Sunday and recalled catcher Ivan Herrera. There is no timetable for his return.

Following their 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres, Cardinals insider Katie Woo provided another update on the veteran catcher.

“Willson Contreras will be out for 3 weeks/his broken arm will have no impact,” Woo tweeted. “Cardinals will ramp him up accordingly after that. With 5 weeks to go until the season ends, there's very little time until he can return.”

Contreras will most likely miss the rest of the season. It is the second time he has been placed on the injured list this season. He previously missed several weeks after being hit in the forearm by JD Martinez's backswing in May.

He will be out of action completely for now, and with so little time left in the season, a return seems unlikely. The 32-year-old had a .262 batting average with 15 home runs, 36 RBIs and a team-leading .848 OPS.

This comes at the worst possible time for the Cardinals, who are struggling to make the postseason and are slipping down the standings. Their offense has been a problem all season.

However, it looks like the Cardinals will be without their best hitter for quite some time. It will be interesting to see how the team handles Contreras's absence and whether they will try to bring him back in late September.

By that point, it may already be too late, as the Cardinals may already be out of the postseason race, trailing six games in the National League wild card race and 10 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

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