Contreras ready for elevated leadership role

WASHINGTON -- The word “opportunity” has been thrown around a lot after the Trade Deadline. The opportunity to replenish the organization with new talent, opportunity for more playing time for younger players and the opportunity for others to step up into bigger roles.

The latter is very important to Willson Contreras. With just a year left on his contract, the catcher isn’t thinking about leaving, saying over and over how much he loves his team and his city. Rather, he is thinking about guiding these Cubs.

“I'm trying to be a leader and I’m going to do my best,” said Contreras on Saturday prior to the Cubs’ matchup with the Nationals at Nationals Park. “I know that I can assume the role of a leader. I'm not thinking of a trade or anything like that. I'm just playing baseball and trying to guide these guys.”

Contreras’ leadership style is more relaxed, hoping to encourage the younger players to have fun and enjoy these next few months. In turn, this creates a learning culture for the next wave of Cubs players.

Manager David Ross has already talked to his catcher -- as well as other veterans like Kyle Hendricks and Jason Heyward -- about what he expects from them and from this team moving forward.

“Those guys who have been around winning have identified it, they understand what that takes,” said Ross. “After [the flurry of trades] yesterday, there's a moment to move forward and do some things maybe a little bit differently that I'd like to implement as well. There's just a lot of stuff that, moving forward, we can all work together to try to get back to that group that everybody's used to seeing.”

Welcome to The Show (times two)
During Friday’s series opener at Nationals Park, both Michael Rucker and Manuel Rodriguez made their MLB debuts.

For both of the pitchers -- like many -- it was a journey to get to the Majors. But for Rodríguez, it fulfilled a journey five years in the making.

When the Cubs signed the righty in 2016, he had been playing in the Mexican League, impressing scouts with his powerful arm. Since then, he’s risen through the Minors, just waiting for his opportunity.

Contreras became close with the pitcher during Spring Training this year, rooting for him to make his mark at the big league level.

After Rodríguez struck out two, tossing a shutout inning, Contreras embraced the righty in the dugout.

“I know how hard it is to make it in the big leagues, especially as a pitcher,” said Contreras. “He works hard. He has really good stuff. I think [last night] was really great for him and this organization.”

While Ross isn’t sure exactly what his bullpen will look like, watching debuts like that are encouraging.

“It's exciting to see young guys come up and have success,” said Ross. “It's fun to watch them compete. These guys come up and make their debuts, it's nice to congratulate guys after they make their mark. They went on to get their first strikeout in the Major Leagues. You don't ever forget those moments. As tough as yesterday was, it was a bright moment.”