St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, on the injured list for the second time this season after he broke a finger when he was hit by a pitch last week, will miss three weeks of action, manager Oliver Marmol said Monday night.
That said, the veteran will not need surgery, Marmol said in his postgame media availability following the Cardinals' 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres, and the club maintains hope that he will be able to return before season's end.
On Monday, Ivan Herrera started behind the plate for the Cardinals, finishing 1-3 with a walk. St. Louis also has Pedro Pages on the active roster.
In a 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, Contreras was leading off the fourth inning when pitcher Pablo Lopez came up and in on him. Contreras couldn't get out of the way as the ball struck his right hand.
He was serving as the Cardinals' designated hitter, so he stayed in the game to run the bases and see if the pain and swelling would go down, but he was replaced by pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter in the sixth.
"We took a blow today," Marmol said at the time. "It's been a tough year. He's been beat up quite a bit. He's fought through a lot of it. He's played with some pain."
Contreras is in his second season with the Cardinals after playing the first seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs. He missed six weeks earlier this season after fracturing his left forearm in a game on May 7.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.