If writers with Hall of Fame votes need more convincing Cardinals legend Yadier Molina should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his candidacy comes, they should take a look at the current crisis state of his former team.

Replacing a beloved and entrenched legend is absolutely one of the hardest things to do in sports.

It gets even harder, and perhaps impossible, when the same organization that trusted you to put your own spin on things decides to completely alter its outlook on that plan barely more than 20% of its way into the first season of a five-year deal.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Willson Contreras said Saturday morning, after he somehow avoided hitting the injured list due to severe whiplash.

After handing Contreras a five-year, $87.5 million deal in December and spending months stressing that the free-agent addition was coming over from the rival Cubs to be a primary catcher capable of putting his own stamp on Molina’s position, the Cardinals 33 games later made a U-turn.

Burdened by a brutal record and constantly slipping because of a pitching staff the front office overrated and refused to significantly upgrade, the Cardinals now hope a stunning change makes a big difference.

Saturday’s familiar 6-5 loss under the new plan is not the only reason to have doubts.

Andrew Knizner, the backup whose final season with Molina ahead of him convinced the Cardinals that catcher was their biggest offseason need, will now be the most-used primary catcher moving forward, at least for now.

Contreras, who Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak specifically said was not pursued to be a part-time catcher and designated hitter, will be spending time at designated hitter and in the corner outfield moving forward.

Newly promoted third catcher Tres Barrera allows for Knizner, who entered Saturday’s game averaging .156 with a .206 on-base percentage and a .250 slugging percentage, to be pinch-hit for more easily. Of all the oddities of this decision, don’t miss that little but significant last one. It played out Saturday. Knizner, the catcher the Cardinals are turning to comfort their under-performing pitchers, was not in the game for the all-important 10th inning. Barrera was.

The Cardinals are back to a catching question mark. They have made their designated hitter and corner outfield positions more crowded, complicated and confusing. More importantly, they are betting that the reward from this move is going to outweigh the risk of damaging the trust of a player who holds a longer contract than any prominent pitcher on the current team. If you are chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., how can you not be wondering how the biggest free-agent contract ever given to a player from outside the organization has reached such a precipitous place so soon?

“It’s not my decision, but I have to adjust to that and move forward,” Contreras said. “It’s tough. I’m an employee. My primary position is catching. But if they want me to DH, I can do nothing about it but be the best hitter I can be.”

Over and over again Saturday, the question was asked. Why? Manager Oliver Marmol presented the most direct answer.

“He’s an .800 OPS dude who is doing a really nice job of taking productive at-bats for us,” Marmol said. “And that’s going to continue. But we need to address the ability and confidence of our pitchers, and we believe that familiarity behind the plate may help with that.”

It can be as complicated as you like, or as simple as you want.

The long version includes this horrid and historically bad 10-24 start, continued poor pitching results, complicated and layered preparation the Cardinals want to see poured into their catchers’ pregame preparations, the growing pains that have popped up as a new catcher continues to learn a new staff, and so on.

The shortest version is that, right now, the Cardinals’ struggling pitchers prefer to throw to Knizner.

Sorry, but I don’t like it.

It feels panicked for a team that keeps saying no one should panic, and too heavily based on the opinions of pitchers who just may not be good enough.

It feels unfair to Contreras, like blame is being shoveled toward the new face in the clubhouse. The timing, especially, stinks. The Cardinals are about to head to Chicago, where Contreras was often not so subtly put down for his pitch calling and game management, concerns the Cardinals felt were overplayed and could be improved.

It feels premature, too. Contreras skipped the World Baseball Classic to dig into his work with the Cardinals. He has been great at suppressing the run game with his strong arm and has improved at pitch framing, thanks to adjustments the Cardinals helped him with. Some Cardinals, like Steven Matz, get all of the patience in the world. Why so little for Contreras? Probably because he’s not Molina. News: No one is!

There are differences in Contreras’ knowledge of pitchers’ preferences, pitch-calling and how he catches up to the Cardinals’ preferred speed and volume of preparation and planning. He can’t instantly make up for the familiarity he lacks. But Cardinals pitchers haven’t always fully trusted him, either, or hit the locations he sets. It’s a two-way street between pitchers and catchers. Contreras was sensing progress. Instead, this detour.

“Getting better,” Contreras said when asked how the meshing was going before the change. “Our relationships are good. There hasn’t been miscommunication or anything like that. If you look back at the games, we are not executing with two strikes. We get hitters in 0-2 counts, but we are not executing in two strikes. It’s not about pitch selection, because there is never going to be the perfect pitch to call.”

Contreras talked with Molina recently, he said, and Molina encouraged him to stay the course. Maybe Molina should have been consulted by the Cardinals?

“I was feeling guilty,” Contreras said. “Because I take losses personally, because I came here to win. He (Molina) said he was watching the games and we are not executing pitches. That was the same thing I’ve been seeing. I’m not blaming anybody. I’m not putting it on my pitchers because I’m on their side.”

Molina shared this advice, per Contreras, during the video call that was arranged by bullpen catcher Kleininger Teran.

“He (Molina) told me it wasn’t going to be easy to come to a new team and catch a whole new staff, but he asked me to trust my game, trust my feelings, to call pitches for a reason,” Contreras said. “He told me to keep watching, keep studying. ‘You’re going to be better. You’re going to be good.’”

It feels rushed to assume this is permanent, considering the only thing the 2023 Cardinals can do well often is fluctuate wildly between stances on topics.

Jordan Walker had to play every day until he was sent back to the minors. Zack Thompson was a key reliever until he needed to be a starter. Tyler O’Neill was a center fielder until he wasn’t again. Jordan Hicks needed to be removed from high-leverage until all of a sudden he’s back.

But some changes are bigger than others.

Just barely into a five-year commitment to a new catcher the Cardinals insisted they saw as deserving of a premier position, their actions say they are open to finding out if walking back that conviction could help save a derailed season.

The person who lifted up Contreras most on Saturday sounded like the catcher Contreras knows no one can replace.

“Yadi was a great catcher, great leader,” Contreras said. “Everybody respected him. Everybody’s missing him.”