{"id":4213,"date":"2026-07-04T04:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4213"},"modified":"2026-07-04T04:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T04:06:26","slug":"with-suspension-on-hold-willson-contreras-back-in-middle-of-red-sox-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4213","title":{"rendered":"With suspension on hold, Willson Contreras back in middle of Red Sox\u2019 lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 Soon, <b>Willson Contreras<\/b> will have to sit out at least several games as a result of his actions in the benches-clearing brouhaha with the Nationals on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4212\">Trump administration\u2019s interpretation of slavery under George Washington can be reinstalled<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>But not Friday, and not this weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As he awaits the appeal of his seven-game suspension, Contreras was for the series opener against the Angels where he always is: batting cleanup and playing first base.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>He didn\u2019t want to say much on his pending punishment, so as to not complicate the process, but said he expects to hear early this week when his appeal will be heard. MLB\u2019s offices were closed Friday for Independence Day weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Contreras also said it won\u2019t be hard to focus in the meantime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to playing with my guys,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are looking to win, for sure. We want to do our best to have three good games here in Anaheim. It\u2019s not my first time going through the process. I\u2019m not proud of it, but I can\u2019t change the past.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Willson Contreras isn\u2019t about to apologize for playing with passion and an edge<\/div>\n<p><span>Interim manager <b>Chad Tracy<\/b> expressed a similar sentiment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cLet that process play out and see what comes down to the pike, whenever it comes down the pike,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s take care of today, and then we\u2019ll take care of tomorrow, the next day. Whenever that comes, we\u2019ll take care of that and get it figured out. So, no, I\u2019m not letting it hang over my head. Just got to take care of today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><b>Nate Eaton<\/b>, who is appealing his three-game suspension, likewise was in the lineup, manning right field and batting leadoff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Tuesday at Fenway Park, the Nationals\u2019 <b>Cade Cavalli<\/b> taunted Contreras after a strikeout, yelling, \u201cSit down, boy.\u201d Contreras tried to charge the mound and throw his batting helmet at Cavalli as both dugouts and bullpens emptied.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Cavalli also was suspended seven games. <b>Miles Mikolas<\/b>, who fought Eaton, got five games. They are appealing as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players\u2019 union, MLB is allowed to consider a player\u2019s prior discipline for on-field conduct when determining discipline \u2014 a factor that may not work in Contreras\u2019s favor.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Cape Cod League baseball players chase their big league dreams in scouting showcase at Fenway Park<\/div>\n<p><span>Late last season, Contreras, then with the Cardinals, threw a fit after a strikeout. He argued the call, got ejected, and threw his bat and a bucket of gum onto the field. What originally was a six-game suspension (for an Aug. 25 incident) was reduced to four upon appeal (on Sept. 5).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This time, MLB decided to set the initial bar one game higher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI hope for a reduced sentence,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cI think I can say that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However long Contreras\u2019s suspension eventually is, the Red Sox will miss their most productive bat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhether it\u2019s this situation or if he got banged up and rolled an ankle or whatever \u2014 if he\u2019s out of lineup, yeah, he\u2019s a big part of the offense,\u201d Tracy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4210\">Trump\u2019s National Guard deployment in Washington expands Ahead of holiday<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Early update<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><b>Connelly Early<\/b> will seek a second update next week, Tracy said, after being diagnosed with posterior elbow inflammation but no structural damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMost guys do it when you\u2019re dealing with an arm,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cI think most guys, if you have the right to do it, they want to do it and make sure that they get multiple looks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Because of offdays Thursday and Monday, the Red Sox can wait as late as Saturday to insert Early\u2019s replacement into the rotation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lefthander <b>Patrick Sandoval<\/b> is \u201cin play,\u201d per Tracy, as long as his rehab start Saturday (about 70 pitches) goes well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Success there would make him an option late next week, probably against the Mets Friday or Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure he gets out of that outing healthy, feels good,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cAnd then once he does that, then we can have more productive conversations around what we might do with that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Pitching project<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The Red Sox have taken on another intriguing pitching project: <b>Sam McWilliams<\/b>, a 30-year-old righthanded reliever who has never pitched in the majors \u2014 but possesses a triple-digit fastball and may have his command problems under control.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He signed a minor league contract and was assigned to Triple-A Worcester.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>McWilliams had been with Tijuana in the Mexican League. In 27 appearances, he had a 3.04 ERA and 42 strikeouts (to 12 walks) in 26\u2154 innings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Although he hasn\u2019t made it to the majors, McWilliams has bounced around since being drafted as a high schooler in 2014: Phillies, Diamondbacks, Rays, Padres, Mets, Reds, Cubs, Brewers, in addition to stints in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Each has been intrigued by his high-powered fastball, which still was reaching 100 miles per hour in Mexico this season. McWilliams\u2019s problem: a Triple-A average of 1.8 strikeouts per walk, lower than it should be because he walked so many batters. With Tijuana, that ratio was up to 3.5.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In that sense, the signing is similar to that of <b>Tyron Guerrero<\/b>. He had no track record of major league success, mostly because of strike-throwing issues despite elite velocity, when he joined the Sox on a minors deal over the offseason. Now, he is one of their high-leverage bullpen arms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4208\">Tadej Poga\u010dar to begin drive for five with start of Tour de France on Saturday<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As he awaited the appeal of his seven-game suspension, Contreras was back batting cleanup and playing first base Friday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>With suspension on hold, Willson Contreras back in middle of Red Sox\u2019 lineup - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4213\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With suspension on hold, Willson Contreras back in middle of Red Sox\u2019 lineup - 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