ST. LOUIS -- Willson Contreras?made a brief stop in the Cardinals¡¯ clubhouse on Thursday morning before dutifully heading off to the trainers¡¯ room to undergo imaging on his ailing left wrist.

Asked if he was OK, Conteras half-grimaced and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±

The Cardinals¡¯ 6-0 loss to the Brewers at Busch Stadium was not the biggest letdown of the day for a club that dropped three of the four games in the series.

St. Louis will place Contreras, who was last offseason¡¯s prime free-agent acquisition, on the 10-day injured list with left wrist tendinitis, manager Oliver Marmol said postgame. A corresponding roster move will be announced before Friday¡¯s series opener against the Padres at Petco Park.

¡°He finished very strong, and I¡¯m proud of him,¡± Marmol said. ¡°This is a guy that cares. I love him.¡±

Contreras¡¯ first season in St. Louis ends prematurely, but on a performance uptick after a choppy start. He finishes the year with 20 home runs -- the fifth time he¡¯s reached that plateau -- and his .825 OPS marks his best season in that category since 2019.

Contreras also was able to battle through a variety of ailments, including a right hand contusion and soreness in his right hip, to help guide Adam Wainwright to his historic 200th career win on Monday night.

¡°It was a really strange season,¡± Contreras said. ¡°Kind of disappointed that we had a losing season, and I ended up going to [the] IL, something that I hated, for sure.

¡°At the same time, I¡¯m really glad that I was able to stay healthy throughout the season, finding ways to keep myself healthy. Really glad and proud that I got to catch win No. 200 for Waino, and that¡¯s something that¡¯s really special.

¡°Not just for me, but for the Cardinals¡¯ organization, and his career, and the city of St. Louis.¡±

The tendinitis first crept in for Contreras during the team¡¯s trip to Atlanta at the beginning of September. Most days, the soreness was manageable, but Contreras described difficulty swinging a bat heading into Wednesday night¡¯s game.

A particularly uncomfortable swing during his third plate appearance in the sixth inning against the Brewers made it clear that he¡¯d reached his stopping point.

After Alec Burleson fractured his left thumb on a headfirst slide into third base on Tuesday, Iv¨¢n Herrera was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take Burleson¡¯s spot on the roster. Even with Herrera¡¯s experience and limited options on the 40-man roster, it seemed notable at the time that he was called up over outfield options like Mois¨¦s G¨®mez and Michael Siani.

¡°That [soreness] was part of the third catcher move,¡± Marmol said following Wednesday¡¯s game, in which Herrera took over behind the plate in the seventh once Contreras was no longer able to go.

The Cardinals are still evaluating whether Contreras¡¯ rehab will allow him to remain with the team for the remainder of the season or if he¡¯ll relocate to their spring facility -- and closer to his home -- in Jupiter, Fla.

Andrew Knizner, the team¡¯s primary backup catcher, caught Miles Mikolas on Thursday. Mikolas again struggled, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits, including two home runs, and one walk in five-plus innings.

Mikolas is 1-8 in his past nine decisions, dating back to July 22.

¡°It¡¯s definitely a year to go back and look and see what I did good, and hold on to that, and change what I did bad,¡± Mikolas said.

¡°Nobody wants [results] more than Miles, and that¡¯s why you let him work through it,¡± Marmol added. ¡°He¡¯s working through some things, and you have to give him every opportunity to do that, especially in these games.¡±

Despite having been temporarily removed from catching duty early in the season, the Cardinals rallied around Contreras behind the plate, and he finished the season having exceeded 2022¡¯s total in games started and innings caught behind the plate despite his injuries.

¡°Willson has been great,¡± Mikolas said. ¡°The guy¡¯s a bulldog. When he¡¯s healthy, he¡¯s incredible. Even when he¡¯s banged up, he¡¯s out there giving his best.¡±

Added Contreras: ¡°It¡¯s a learning season for me, with the whole staff, from top to bottom. I¡¯m glad that it happened this year. We¡¯ll learn from this year not to carry some things to 2024, and hopefully 2024 is way better than 2023.¡±