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Gregory Bull/Associated Press
As lifetime St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina explores free agency, a number of teams have expressed interest.
On Twitter, MLB insider Hector Gomez shared Laura Bonnelly’s interview with Molina on Mas Que Pelota in which the 38-year-old said that while the New York Yankees, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels “have shown interest,” he wants to stay with the Cardinals.
Though he’s been hanging around the big leagues since 2004, much of Molina’s success has come more recently, with his nine All-Star nods coming since 2009—including two as recently as 2017 and 2018. Molina is also a nine-time Gold Glove award winner and boasts four Platinum Gloves in addition to a Silver Slugger, and of course a pair of World Series championships.
In 2020, he slashed .262/.303/.359, with 38 hits, 16 RBIs and four home runs through 145 at-bats, appearing in 42 games for St. Louis.
But for all the interest that Molina says is expressed by multiple teams, one report suggests the Cardinals hold the upper hand in this sweepstakes.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that Molina is looking for a two-year deal. The Cardinals are aware of his wishes, and while they haven’t made an offer, his long history with the franchise will play into any contract negotiations, per Goold:
“From the outside looking in, other teams see the Cardinals as the most likely to mix emotions with financials to sign Molina, and that other teams aren’t. [Owner] Bill DeWitt Jr. told me this past week that he hopes they can bring back both Molina and Adam Wainwright, and [president of baseball operations John] Mozeliak has said that the negotiations with Molina are going to have to include both an emotional/legacy element and a financial element.”
To other teams, a two-year deal that ties a franchise to a player until after his 40th birthday may be a breaking point, but Molina’s connection to the Cardinals may help him get his wish to play for another two seasons.
