Contreras, 33, entered Monday hitting .261/.345/.460 (125 OPS+) with 19 home runs and 70 runs batted in over the course of 120 games. His contributions were estimated to have been worth 2.3 Wins Above Replacement, according to the calculations hosted at Baseball Reference.

In the bottom of the seventh inning on an 0-2 count against the Pirates, the Cardinals' first baseman was called for strike three on a pitch near the center of the plate. Contreras shared a couple of words with the umpire, which turned into a face-to-face confrontation, and quickly evolved into an ejection and a flurry of expletives.