Who is William Contreras, the Milwaukee Brewers' new catcher from the Atlanta Braves acquired in a trade?
The Brewers acquired William Contreras in a three-team trade with Atlanta and Oakland on Monday, adding an All-Star catcher to their roster for 2023.
He comes to the Brewers from the Braves, where he has been in the organization since he was 17 years old and was once one of their top prospects. The Brewers also added minor-league reliever Justin Yeager (Braves) and reliever Joel Payamps (A’s) as part of the trade.
But the prize, no doubt, is Contreras. Here's what you should about the young catcher.
How old is William Contreras?
He is 24 years old. He'll turn 25 on Christmas Eve.
Where is Contreras from?
Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.
How long has Contreras been in the MLB?
Contreras had been part of the Braves organization since Atlanta signed him as an international free agent in February 2015. He got his first taste of big-league action in 2020.
Contreras won a World Series with the Braves in 2021
Contreras, serving as the backup catcher with the Braves in 2021, was on Atlanta's World Series champion roster, though he didn't play in any of the six games.
He did get an at-bat in the divisional-round playoff series against the Brewers during the Braves' postseason run that year.
More:The Brewers are the winners of the William Contreras trade
More:What can the Brewers expect from William Contreras and the two pitchers they also acquired?
William Contreras' brother, Willson, is a successful MLB catcher Brewers fans know all about
Catching runs in the family.
William Contreras' older brother, Willson, is an established MLB catcher and the two will now play each other more as members of the NL Central. Willson, 30, spent the last seven years with the Chicago Cubs and this offseason he signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Like his younger brother, he won a World Series championship early in his career. As a rookie, Willson was a member of the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs.
The two were both members of the 2022 NL All-Star team.
What were William Contreras' offensive stats from 2022?
Outside of 13 games for the Braves' AAA team he spent most of the season with the big-league club.
With the Braves, he played in 97 games, had 334 at-bats, 51 runs, 93 hits, 20 home runs, 45 RBI, 104 strikeouts, two stolen bases, a .278 average, .354 OBP, .506 slugging and a .860 OPS.
What are Contreras' career offensive stats?
He had a brief stint with the Braves during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and split time between AAA and the Braves in 2021.
His career stats with the Braves are as follows: 153 games, 507 at-bats, 70 runs, 132 hits, 28 home runs, 69 RBI, 162 strikeouts, two stolen bases, a .260 average, .338 OBP, .471 slugging and a .809 OPS.
What are Contreras' defensive stats?
For his career he has thrown out base runners at a 29% clip. In 2022, that number was just 16.7% (6 of 36). In 2022, he had a .986 fielding percentage and for his career it's .990. Last season, he had eight errors in 518.2 innings over 60 games. Statcast gives Contreras a -3 runs below average value for catchers framing runs.
What has William Contreras said about the trade?
Brewers fans across social media appeared to approve of the deal, but did Contreras? On Monday, he tweeted a series of broken hearts.
💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
— William Contreras (@Wcontreras42) December 12, 2022
With Contreras now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, what does the team's catching depth look like?
The Brewers were in need of a catcher with Omar Narváez, one of their primary backstops the last two seasons, now a free agent.
Victor Caratini, Mario Feliciano and Patyon Henry are the other catchers on the Brewers' 40-man roster.
Caratini, 29, is the only other player with significant big-league experience. In his first year with the Brewers, he played in 96 games, had 272 at-bats with 26 runs, 54 hits, 34 RBI, 31 walks, nine home runs, 67 strikeouts, for a .199 average.
Feliciano, 24, who before the 2022 season was a top 10 prospect in the Brewers organization according to the Journal Sentinel, spent almost all of last year with AAA Nashville. He was called up in August when Narváez was injured and had four at-bats and one hit in two games.
More:'We've been busy': No deals yet, but Brewers laying groundwork at winter meetings
More:Brewers and infielder Mike Brosseau reach an agreement on one-year contract
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: William Contreras is all-star, brother Willson is former Cubs catcher
