William and Willson Contreras each said it’s “a dream come true” to face off for the first time as big leaguers this weekend with the Braves and Cubs squaring off at Wrigley Field.
But what if they could take the field together as teammates?
“If it ever turned out Willson and I could play together, it would be amazing,” William said through a team interpreter Friday.
There’s a narrow window it could happen this season. The Cubs are expected to trade Willson by the Aug. 2 deadline.
Although the Braves have a solid catching tandem in William and Travis d’Arnaud, they were aggressive at the deadline last summer — when they didn’t have a designated hitter.
“I mean, who’s to say?” said William of playing with Willson. “You obviously don't know what the future holds.”
Especially with Willson, who’s set to become a free agent after this season.
Willson and William wouldn’t be the first brother catching tandem to play on the same team. Bengie and José Molina were teammates on the Angels from 2001-05.
Speaking of the Molinas, Willson and William on Saturday became the first brothers to start at catcher in the same game since José and Yadier Molina in 2014, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Whether the Contreras brothers team up after this season, maybe we see them in the same uniform as soon as next month. Willson is set to make his third career All-Star team, and William is off to a hot start with Atlanta.
Entering Saturday, William is hitting .287/.368/.649 in 28 games since Atlanta promoted him from Triple-A in April. His nine home runs rank third among catchers, behind his brother and Salvador Pérez.
MLB
William may ultimately not have enough at-bats to warrant All-Star consideration, but if he keeps up this level of production, he could put himself in the running.
“I thought about that. It would be fun,” Willson told NBC Sports Chicago. “I talked to my family about it.
“If he started with the [Braves] since April, he might have some numbers to go to the All-Star game. But I don’t know how they work.”
Even if it doesn’t happen this season, there's a good chance we see both Contreras brothers in the Midsummer Classic one day.
“You almost can't even dream about something like that,” William said. “But to have both brothers be All-Stars like that, I mean, it would just be unreal.”