William Contreras DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that he fully expects catcher William Contreras (finger) to return to the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Zack Littell. A recent X-ray revealed that Contreras has been playing through an old fracture in the middle finger of his left hand. The 27-year-old All-Star backstop took the day off in Wednesday's loss to the Houston Astros, but he plans to play through the injury and will be active again on Friday after a travel day on Thursday. It's good news for fantasy managers that the Venezuelan catcher won't miss extended time with the injury, but it also means that Contreras might not be ready to return to his All-Star form from a year ago at the plate. Through 35 contests in 2025, he's hitting a disappointing .242 (30-for-124) with three homers, 19 RBI and four steals in 148 trips to the plate.

X-rays revealed that Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (finger) has a fracture of the middle finger on his catching hand, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. It's an old fracture that has bothered Contreras for some time, but he will continue to play through it. The Brewers are working with the All-Star catcher to make a splint for his finger to absorb some of the impact that he takes on a daily basis. He will continue to catch. It helps explain why the 27-year-old Venezuelan backstop has been rather quiet to start the 2025 season at the plate. Heading into Wednesday's action, Contreras has hit .242/.358/.331 with a career-low .689 OPS, three home runs, two doubles, 19 RBI, 19 runs scored and four stolen bases in 35 games played. Contreras isn't in the starting lineup on Wednesday versus the Houston Astros, with Eric Haas doing the catching and batting eighth against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez.

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (finger) has been playing through a finger injury so painful that the team conducted X-rays on it Tuesday, per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Contreras started in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Astros, going 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He also threw out Jose Altuve trying to steal a base. The injury hasn't negatively impacted his defensive performance, as he leads baseball in throwing runners out. His offensive performance has been down, though, as he's slashing .242/.358/.331 with three home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases. Fantasy managers should keep an eye out for any updates related to his finger, but it seems he may be able to play through it for now.