Beloved former Cubs star learns grass isn't always greener after free agency betrayal

It's been a week for leveling criticism and issuing challenges to front offices. Within hours of Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell and several players saying the bar needs to be raised in Wrigleyville moving forward, Willson Contreras put the onus on John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals brass after another challenging season that saw the self-labeled 'Best Fans in Baseball' flee Busch Stadium in droves.

It's been a tumultuous first two years for Contreras in St. Louis. After some offseason tit-for-tat between him and his former team heading into the 2023 season, his game-calling and work behind the plate took center stage when the Cardinals replaced him as their starting catcher before eventually re-installing him later in the year.

The bat has always played - and that remains the case. Since signing his five-year, $87.5 million deal, Contreras owns a 128 OPS+ across more than 850 plate appearances with the Redbirds. But a lack of impact talent around him has culminated in a Cardinals offense that ranks in the bottom third of the league in OPS and has scored the second-fewest runs in the National League.

Aging franchise cornerstones Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have both been slightly below-average offensive players this year and nobody besides Contreras has an OPS above 115 entering action Tuesday. It's clear St. Louis needs to dramatically transform its offense this winter (not to mention addressing several other areas, namely its starting rotation) - and Contreras is making sure everybody knows it.

Often outspoken, Contreras has become a villain over the last two years to many Cubs fans who can't get past his signing with a hated division rival. The visions of enjoying the second World Series parade of his career that filled his mind two years ago have faded, and he's now begging the front office and ownership to turn around a team that's gone 150-168 since he arrived - including its first last-place season in more than three decades.

The Cardinals have a looming decision to make with a free-agent-to-be in Goldschmidt and choices to make with several club options on other key pieces. Uncertainty looms over Mozeliak and the front office. Contreras joined St. Louis, for many reasons, one of which being its stability and tradition of winning. That stability is feeling shakier than ever - and his public comments, while potentially impactful, do little to lend to a sense of optimism, at least for the time being.