Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (ankle) is back behind the plate catching and is hitting second on Saturday in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Johan Oviedo. Contreras missed the game on Thursday but is back behind the dish. Fantasy managers will want to get him back into their lineups. Before his injury, the 30-year-old backstop had an eight-game hitting streak in which he hit .367 with four home runs, two doubles, seven RBI, eight runs and a stolen base. Overall, Contreras is slashing .278/.401/.530 with a .931 OPS, nine home runs, 21 RBI, 32 runs scored and two stolen bases in 151 at-bats as one of the best hitting catchers in fantasy.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (ankle) was forced to exit early during Thursday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was hit by a pitch during the eighth inning and came out of the contest as a precaution. The X-rays on his ankle came back negative, so Contreras isn't expected to need a trip to the injured list. However, Contreras is out of the starting lineup for Friday's game. P.J. Higgins will draw the start behind the plate and bat seventh versus righty Miles Mikolas. Fantasy managers will hopefully have Contreras back in their lineups at some point during this weekend series.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring) is set to make his return in Thursday's day game against the Cincinnati Reds. He will be batting second and playing catcher in the game. Contreras was held out of each of the team's last four games due to a strained right hamstring. It's especially encouraging to see that the team is placing him behind the plate for the game, rather than utilizing him as a designated hitter. Contreras has been one of the best catchers in fantasy so far this year. Over 35 games, he's slashing .256/.379/.455 with five home runs, 14 RBI and 24 runs.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds. It will be Contreras' fourth straight game on the bench due to a strained right hamstring. With fellow backstop Yan Gomes (oblique) going on the injured list, P.J. Higgins will do the catching and hit eighth on Wednesday against Reds right-hander Luis Castillo. Cubs skipper David Ross has expressed confidence that Contreras will avoid a stint on the injured list, so fantasy managers hopefully will get him back in their lineups this weekend. The 30-year-old is hitting .258/.382/.458 with an .840 OPS, five home runs, 14 RBI, 24 runs scored and a stolen base in 34 games played.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring) is out of the starting lineup again on Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds. Contreras will miss his third straight game after suffering a right hamstring strain on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The good news is that manager David Ross doesn't think Contreras will go on the injured list. Yan Gomes is the designated hitter and is batting fifth, while P.J. Higgins does the catching and is hits eighth on Tuesday against Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle. Contreras is an everyday fantasy catcher when he's healthy, and he's hitting .258/.382/.458 with an .840 OPS, five home runs, 14 RBI, 24 runs scored and a stolen base in 34 games this year. Hopefully he'll be back in the lineup at some point this week.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds. Contreras strained his right hamstring on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks and is currently considered day-to-day. Yan Gomes is doing the catching and is batting fifth on Monday against Reds right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez. Contreras is a must-start in fantasy when he's on the field, as he's hitting .258/.382/.458 with an .840 OPS, five home runs, 14 RBI, 24 runs scored and a stolen base in 34 games so far this year. Gomes won't be a bad low-cost catching option in DFS in the five-hole. He's hitting .261 on the year with two homers and seven RBI in 71 plate appearances.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (hamstring) is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Contreras exited Saturday's game due to right hamstring tightness and he is being considered day-to-day. P.J. Higgins will be the team's starting catcher on Sunday and Frank Schwindel will be the designated hitter. Contreras has been about as good as any catcher in the game so far this year from a fantasy perspective. Over 34 games, he's slashing .258/.382/.458 with five home runs, 14 RBI and 24 runs.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (mid-body) is back in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox. He will be batting out of the cleanup spot. Contreras missed each of the last two games due to what has been called a mid-body issue. The 29-year-old is currently slashing .250/.354/.426 over 18 games on the season. He's racked up two home runs, seven RBI and 13 runs.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is out of the starting lineup for the second straight game on Tuesday. Yan Gomes is getting his second consecutive start behind the plate for the game. Prior to Tuesday's game, Cubs manager David Ross stated that Contreras was day-to-day and said that he was dealing with an undisclosed issue. Ross added that he couldn't get into specifics regarding Contreras due to "competitive" reasons, but he also said that Contreras was available off the bench for the game. While this update from Ross is certainly about as cryptic as it gets, the good news is that it sounds like Contreras won't be out much longer due to Ross's day-to-day designation.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against Drew Rasmussen and the Tampa Bay Rays. The team is going with Yan Gomes behind the plate. Gomes will be batting eighth in the game. Contreras went 0-for-7 with a walk in the first two games of the series. However, he's off to a solid start to the year as a whole. Over nine games, he's hit two home runs and three doubles while posting an .811 OPS. We should see him back out on the field on Thursday, when the team opens up a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The San Diego Padres and New York Yankees have checked in on the availability of Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras in recent weeks, according to sources. Contreras is in the final season of his deal and isn't engaged in contract extensions, so he could be traded in 2022. Chicago also signed Yan Gomes to a two-year deal prior to the lockout. The 29-year-old backstop signed with the Cubs when he was 17 years old and has developed into one of the best catchers in baseball, averaging 25 home runs and 81 RBI over every 162 games of his career. He hit .237 with 21 homers, 57 RBI and a .778 OPS in 128 games last year. The Yankees, who traded Gary Sanchez to the Twins, are an obvious fit for Contreras.

The Chicago Cubs and catcher Willson Contreras could work on a contract extension before Opening Day. The 29-year-old, who made $6.65 million in 2021, is in his final year of arbitration eligibility and club control. Chicago failed to sign long-term extensions in the past for cornerstone players such as Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said he "will almost certainly shop" the catcher if a deal cannot be reached. Contreras slashed .237/.340/.438 with 21 home runs, 57 RBI, 61 runs scored, and four stolen bases over 483 plate appearances in 2021. The veteran backstop is the fourth-ranked catcher on the latest Rotoballer rankings and will remain a top-5 option regardless of whether he's with the Cubs or elsewhere.

The Chicago Cubs will likely try to work out a contract extension with catcher Willson Contreras, who can become a free agent a year from now. However, if a deal can't be reached, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer "will almost certainly shop" the 29-year-old backstop. Contreras was worth 2.1 Wins Above Replacement in 2021, according to FanGraphs, which was 12th among all catchers. But only five catchers have had a better WAR than Contreras since he made his major league debut in 2016. If the Cubs keep him around for the long term, they'd like to get him more help behind the plate, as they think he wore down offensively from playing so much. Only seven catchers have logged more innings than Contreras behind the dish since 2016, and only two of them (Yasmani Grandal and Buster Posey) have a better wRC+ than his 114.

The Chicago Cubs placed catcher Willson Contreras (hip) on the injured list due to right hip inflammation on Sunday. Fellow catcher Tyler Payne was added to the roster from the taxi squad in a corresponding move. Contreras suffered the hip injury during Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. His stint on the injured list will of course be brief as the Cubs won't be headed to the postseason. The 29-year-old slashed .237/.340/.438 with 21 home runs, 57 RBI and 61 runs over 128 games this season.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (hip) was removed in the third inning of Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals due to hip tightness. He was pulled from the game after drawing a walk. Erick Castillo came in to replace him behind the plate. While we don't know much about the severity of the injury, it seems likely that Contreras won't play again this year. The 29-year-old has had another solid offensive season in 2021. Over 127 games, he's slashed .238/.339/.439 with 21 home runs, 57 RBI and 61 runs.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (wrist) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Austin Romine is getting the start behind the plate in the game. Contreras is dealing with wrist soreness, but Cubs manager David Ross told reporters that it is nothing serious. He even went as far to say that he expects Contreras to start and catch in Wednesday's game. The 29-year-old backstop has had a solid month at the plate. He's slashing .263/.358/.509 with four home runs, 13 RBI and 11 runs so far in September.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras will rest on Sunday versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Contreras was activated from the 10-day injured list on Saturday and went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored. When healthy, Contreras is one of the best catchers in the game and managers should feel confident with him moving forward. Backup catcher Robinson Chirinos will replace Contreras on Sunday and bat seventh versus Wil Crowe. Chirinos is a dart throw in DFS for Sunday's slate.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (knee) has been activated from the injured list on Saturday, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Contreras has been out of action since August 12 after spraining his right knee. In a corresponding move, the Cubs placed right-hander Keegan Thompson (shoulder) on the 10-day IL with shoulder inflammation. Contreras is having a bit of a down season by his standards, slashing .226/.333/.417 with 17 HRs and four stolen bases, but he's still one of the better catching options in fantasy baseball. Fantasy managers should plug him right back into their lineup and expect him to keep producing.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (knee) will get into action on Friday with Triple-A Iowa. He has been sidelined since August 12 due to a knee sprain. He'll need to get some rehab at-bats to get back into a groove before returning to Chicago. The hope is that he'll be able to return within the next week. Fantasy managers should continue to hold Contreras as he appears to be at the end of his injury stint.

Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (knee) could return as the team's designated hitter on their upcoming interleague-heavy road trip, NBC Sports Chicago's Gordon Wittenmyer reported on Monday. Contreras landed on the 10-day injured list on August 12 with a right knee sprain but is slowly returning to baseball activities and took batting practice on Monday ahead of the Cubs game against the visiting Colorado Rockies. On Monday, Robinson Chirinos will continue filling in behind the dish and bat seventh against right-handed pitcher Antonio Senzatela. Chirinos has been hot lately, hitting .381/.500/.667 with one home run, three RBI, and four runs scored on eight hits over his last seven games played.