Former Cubs fan favorite turned villain suddenly at center of Red Sox drama

Leave it to former Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras to find the drama. Contreras didn't exactly have an easy exit from the Chicago Cubs, engaging in a back-and-forth with reports over how the Cubs viewed him as a catcher. There was no shortage of dramatic incidents during his time with the St. Louis Cardinals, and he's certainly experiencing it in his first season with the Boston Red Sox.

To be fair to Contreras, most of the drama stems from before he actually arrived in Boston. Craig Breslow created a divide when he traded away Rafael Devers last season, seemed to fix it with Alex Bregman's emergence as a leader in Boston, but lost it once again by not taking negotiations with the All-Star third baseman seriously this past offseason.

Fast forward to the start of this season, and the Red Sox have easily been one of the biggest disappointments in baseball, and have already fired manager Alex Cora. Perhaps Contreras was trying to praise the switch in managers for the Red Sox, but his comments over the weekend suggest that there's still more tension in Boston that needs to be addressed.

Willson Contreras' gripe with Red Sox should sound familiar to Cubs fans

First signs of Contreras not always being on the same page with his Cubs teammate surfaced during the 2021 season. Cameras caught Contreras and Anthony Rizzo getting into an argument during a game in June. Tensions were certainly high for that Cubs team, considering the core was trying to delay the inevitable teardown as long as possible. Rizzo was traded to the New York Yankees the following month, and Contreras suddenly was one of the most tenured Cubs. Even then, there were whispers of tension behind the scenes, and it occasionally would bleed into the public eye.

All this to say, perhaps, Contreras isn't the best source to voice what's going on in the clubhouse. Framing the comments in the way he did, Contreras seems to be suggesting that Cora was at the center of the stress that is playing for the Red Sox this season.

It's also a good time to remind everyone that Contreras once praised his departure from the Cubs by suggesting he was now with an organization in the Cardinals that does baseball the right way. Since Contreras left the Cubs, he has yet to return to the playoffs, and it would seem that same fate awaits him with the Red Sox this season.

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