Three years ago when Willson Contreras hit free agency after seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs, the three-time All-Star considered Boston one of his preferred landing spots. Having grown up watching guys like Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the idea of following in their footsteps had obvious appeal.

Contreras ultimately wound up signing a five-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, but as fate would have it, Contreras would eventually find his way to Boston anyway.

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Last month the Red Sox acquired Contreras from the Cardinals in exchange for right-handers Hunter Dobbins, Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita. The 33-year-old should immediately slot in as Boston’s new starting first baseman, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated this past weekend that he sees Contreras as the club’s clean-up hitter.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday for the first time since the trade, Contreras said he was happy to waive his no-trade clause and is excited for the opportunity to play in Boston.

“The history that the Red Sox have and I think it’s really a dream come true for any Latin player who grew up watching Boston,” Contreras said. “At this point in my career I was really surprised about this move. I never thought about coming to Boston in my life but when I went to my first free agency it was one of my landing spots. It didn’t work, but now we’re here and I’m really excited for this new opportunity and I can’t wait to get back on the field with the guys.”

A longtime catcher, Contreras successfully transitioned to first base last season and quickly established himself defensively at the position. He has also ranked among the game’s top hitters throughout his career, and since 2022 he is one of 11 players to post four consecutive seasons with 120 OPS+, which equates to 20% better than league average production.

Last season he batted .257 with 20 home runs, 80 RBI and a .791 OPS.

Beyond his abilities on the field, Contreras is also known for being a high-energy player who isn’t afraid to show his emotions on the field. Contreras described himself as “a gamer” who won’t shy away from rubbing other players the wrong way.

“If you play against me and you don’t like me, that’s fine with me, but at some point if we play together you’re going to love me,” Contreras said. “I play to win, I don’t play to mess around, I don’t play to make friends on other teams.”

After spending his entire career playing on both sides of the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry, Contreras is also looking forward to stepping into the Red Sox-Yankees mix.

“The Yankees are a really good team and they have good players, but I’m not coming to Boston just to like the Yankees, because that’s not going to happen,” Contreras said. “They’re probably going to start hating me whenever we play against each other, but I’m going to play with fire, I’m going to play with emotions and show them that we can win.”

Contreras knows what it takes to win. As a rookie he played a prominent role on the Cubs’ historic 2016 World Series championship team, which ended the franchise’s 108-year title drought. As far as his new team goes, Contreras said he believes the Red Sox aren’t far away from winning a World Series themselves, and he hopes to do whatever he can to help get the club over the hump.

“I’m really excited for the new team, I think we have a really good lineup, pitching staff is really good and the relievers are great,” Contreras said. “We just need to keep playing with the same emotion, the same energy day in and day out, take care of all the little details that we’ll have to adjust through the season, and the most important thing for me is to play with heart.”