‘If they want to rebuild around me, I’m happy to talk’: Willson Contreras takes on a bigger Chicago Cubs leadership role after sell-off

Since catcher Willson Contreras signed with the Chicago Cubs out of Venezuela at 17 years old, they are the only organization he has known.

After the Cubs dismantled their big-league roster at the trade deadline and broke up the core that helped the franchise end a 107-year World Series title drought in 2016, Contreras is one of the team’s longest-tenured players. Only right-hander Kyle Hendricks, in his eighth big-league season in Chicago, has spent more consecutive years in a Cubs uniform than Contreras, whose six seasons are tied with Jason Heyward.

Contreras, though, will be a free agent after the 2022 season. While president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has made clear he views the moves in the last week as part of organizational retooling and not a rebuild, Contreras, 29, could find himself in a situation like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez at this time next year.

Contreras indicated Saturday he would listen if the Cubs express interest in signing him to a contract extension.

“I’d love to stay here. I love Chicago. I love my city. I love the team,” Contreras said. “This is the only team I’ve played for, and if they want to rebuild around me, I’m happy to talk.

“I‘m not thinking of getting moved or getting traded. I’m thinking of guiding these guys in the right way. I’m trying to be the leader. I’m going do my best, and I know that I assume the role of a leader. ... I’m just playing my baseball.”

The Cubs will be relying on Contreras, Hendricks and Heyward, already considered leaders before the trade-deadline fire sale, to fill the void left by the departed players. Hendricks said what the departed star trio brought to the team as leaders is “completely irreplaceable, so we have to take a little different route.” Manager David Ross has had conversations with Contreras and Heyward about that and planned to talk with Hendricks, too, after his start Saturday.

“Those guys have been around winning, have identified it, they understand what that takes,” Ross said Saturday. “And I also know that after (Friday), there’s a moment to move forward and do some things maybe a little bit differently that I’d like to implement as well. So there’s just a lot of stuff that moving forward we can all work together on to try to get back to that group that everybody’s used to seeing.”

After holding the Washington Nationals to one run in seven innings in a 6-3 win Saturday night, Hendricks said it will take a while to process the trades. While it’s natural to think about what comes next, he doesn’t want to put all of his focus there.

“It’s unclear to us exactly where we’re headed,” Hendricks said. “But I know it’s all going to be for the better in the end, so we just have to trust them.”

Hendricks, 31, is under contract through 2023 with a club option for 2024. He has been a steady force in the Cubs rotation since getting called up in 2014, with a career 3.18 ERA in 197 appearances (196 starts). As for whether he envisions himself anchoring the next contending Cubs team or is unsure about his future as the organization resets, Hendricks said it’s a little bit of both.

“I mean, you never know where you’re going to be,” he said. “But I love Chicago so much and they’ve given me everything. So I obviously would love to be here and I would love to be a part of that. But again, you never know where your place is in those plans, so my focus is just going out and enjoying the game that I love to play and enjoying the competition, enjoying all the guys in here.”

Contreras wants to be a player the Cubs lean on both on and off the field. His workload behind the plate certainly qualifies. His 87 starts and 736 innings through Saturday led all big-league catchers. He wants to be the bridge from the 2016 World Series-era Cubs and the next championship-caliber team. Contreras said he told his teammates Friday night that the next two months won’t be easy, but they need to try to have fun and learn from each other.

Contreras didn’t sound concerned with how long it could take the Cubs to get back to the postseason. He believes the team still has a lot of talent and anticipates the front office will acquire more in the offseason.

“I’m open to (an extension); my door’s always been open,” Contreras said. “Whenever they want to talk, I’ll be open with my agents. I’m just looking forward to keep playing baseball.”

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