Willson Contreras Named Finalist for NL Silver Slugger
The Silver Slugger finalists at every position were announced Thursday, and the Chicago Cubs had one finalist for the award, that being catcher Willson Contreras. The righty earned the award following one of the top offensive seasons of his career.
The Venezuela native slashed .243/.349/.466 for an OPS of .815 and a career-high OPS+ of 128. Contreras also is the first catcher in franchise history with four 20+ home run seasons.
The other finalists at catcher in the NL are the Philadelphia Phillies' JT Realmuto, the Atlanta Braves' Travis d'Arnaud, and the Los Angeles Dodgers Will Smith. Contreras has a higher OPS than both d'Arnaud and Smith, but five points lower than Realmuto. Contreras also has a better OPS+ than the d'Arnaud and Smith but is one point short of Realmuto.
Should Contreras win, it would be his first Silver Slugger of his career. It could be a big boost for the righty who enters free agency this winter for the first time in his career.
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