Cardinals' Willson Contreras to serve reduced 4-game suspension

Willson Contreras had his six-game suspension reduced to four games on Friday and began serving the discipline with Friday night's home game against the San Francisco Giants.

Contreras had appealed his discipline for throwing his bat while arguing with umpires during an Aug. 25 contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will be eligible to play Tuesday when the Cardinals visit the Seattle Mariners.

Contreras struck out in the seventh inning of the Aug. 25 game and was ejected for arguing with umpire Derek Thomas. He also bumped Thomas and unleashed foul language at the umpire, according to Major League Baseball.

The outburst continued as Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and hitting coach Brant Brown held Contreras back from the umpire. After tossing his helmet onto the ground, Contreras tossed his bat behind him, hitting Brown in the arm. He finished off the tirade with a bubble gum toss from the dugout.

Contreras, 33, is batting .254 with 20 home runs and a career-best 78 RBIs in 130 games for the Cardinals.

Contreras was a three-time All-Star during his seven-year stint with the Chicago Cubs and is a career .257 batter with 172 homers and 546 RBIs in 1,073 games.

St. Louis activated catcher Yohel Pozo from the seven-day concussion list and optioned infielder Cesar Prieto to Triple-A Memphis.

Pozo, 28, is batting .242 with five homers and 19 RBIs in 62 games. Prieto, 26, was 1-for-6 in three games with St. Louis.

--Field Level Media