William Jesus Contreras (born December 24, 1997) is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. Contreras signed with the Braves organization in 2015 and made his major league debut on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

in 2020. Contreras was a member of the

2021 World Series The 2021 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2021 season. The 117th World Series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the American League (AL) champion H ...

champions and was named an All-Star in 2022. The Braves traded Contreras to the Brewers after the 2022 season.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Contreras signed with the

as an international free agent in February 2015. He made his professional debut with the DSL Braves in 2015, hitting .314/.370/.413/.783 with 32

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). He played for the

GCL Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTo ...

in 2016 and hit .264/.346/.375/.721 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and eight RBIs. Contreras played for the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

in 2017, hitting .290/.379/.432/.811 with four home runs and 25 RBIs. He split the 2018 season between the

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

and the

Florida Fire Frogs The Florida Fire Frogs were a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League from 2017 to 2020. They were located in North Port, Florida, and served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Founded in 2017, the Fire Frog ...

, hitting a combined .285/.347/.436/.783 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. He split the 2019 season between Florida and the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

, hitting a combined .255/.315/.354/.669 with 6 home runs and 39 RBIs. The Braves added Contreras to their

40 man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

following the 2019 season to protect him from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft. He was invited to the regularly held 2020 spring training, as well as summer camp, held prior to opening day of the shortenend 2020 season. Contreras was activated on July 24, 2020, and made his major league debut that day as a backup catcher. His first career hit and run batted in came as a pinch-hitter the next day, while facing

Hunter Strickland Hunter Drew Strickland (born September 24, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Ta ...

. In 2020 he was four-for-ten with a double and an RBI. On May 5, 2021, Contreras hit his first career home run against

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

pitcher

Erick Fedde Erick James Fedde (born February 25, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the NC Dinos of the KBO League. He previously played for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at UNLV. Amat ...

. He split the 2021 between Gwinnett and Atlanta. While in the majors, he batted .215/.303/.399 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs. The Braves finished with an 88–73 record, clinching the NL East, and eventually won the 2021 World Series, giving the Braves their first title since 1995. Contreras made the Atlanta Braves' 2022 Opening Day roster as a backup catcher, and again split the year between Atlanta and Gwinnett, where he was expected to improve his skills as a catcher. Contreras was named to the

2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 92nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Do ...

as an injury replacement for designated hitter

Bryce Harper Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, Harper played for the Wash ...

. William and his brother Willson became the fifteenth pair of brothers to be selected to an

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 12, 2022, the Braves sent Contreras to the

in a three-team trade in which the Braves acquired

Sean Murphy Sean Murphy may refer to: Sports * Seán Óg Murphy (1897–1956), Irish hurler * Seán Murphy (hurler) (born 1947), Irish hurler * Seán Murphy (Gaelic footballer) (born 1932), Irish Gaelic football player * Sean Murphy (footballer, born 1995), Sc ...

, the Brewers also acquired

Joel Payamps Joel Elias Payamps (born April 7, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, a ...

and Justin Yeager, and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

acquired

Esteury Ruiz Esteury Ruiz (born February 15, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the San Diego Padres and also played for the Milwaukee Brewers. Car ...

, Kyle Muller, Freddy Tarnok,

Manny Piña Manuel Elías Piña Reyes (; born June 5, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Br ...

, and Royber Salinas.

Personal life

William Contreras is the youngest son of William and Olga Contreras. His older brother, Willson, is also a catcher and plays for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, William 1997 births Living people Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball catchers Atlanta Braves players Milwaukee Brewers players National League All-Stars Dominican Summer League Braves players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Gulf Coast Braves players Danville Braves players Rome Braves players Florida Fire Frogs players Mississippi Braves players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Gwinnett Stripers players People from Puerto Cabello