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The End of Yadier Molina Era in St. Louis Could Be Coming Soon

By Jacob Kornhauser

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All great things must come to an end. Yes, that even applies to Yadier Molina‘s run with the Cardinals, as the best defensive catcher in baseball.

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Molina has suffered through injuries in past years and his latest one might linger enough to effectively put an end to the prime of his career. The backstop underwent two surgeries to repair his torn right thumb ligament this offseason and the team still doesn’t know when he will be back from the injury.

Even if he’s back relatively early in the 2016 season, an injury to a catcher’s thumb has serious re-injury risk. As his body has broken down, so have his offensive numbers. Those numbers have steadily dropped over the past three seasons.

  • 2013: .319 batting average, 12 HRs, 80 RBI (136 games)
  • 2014: .282 batting average, 7 HRs, 38 RBI (110 games)
  • 2015: .270 batting average, 4 HRs, 61 RBI (136 games)
Tony La Russa once said he would put Molina in the lineup even if he batted .000                                            Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports
Tony La Russa once said he would put Molina in the lineup even if he batted .000                                            Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports /

Former Cardinal manager Tony La Russa once said he would put Molina in the lineup even if he batted .000, based on his defense. That’s really not too far off, but without his offense and with the risk of re-injury to his thumb, the Cardinals should start focusing on a different long-term solution at the position.

This offseason, they signed Brayan Pena to back Molina up, but he might get thrust into a starting role. He is a solid backup, but he is not the long-term solution behind the plate. Only one of the Cardinals’ top 20 prospects is a catcher: Carson Kelly. The 21-year-old batted just .219 with eight home runs and 51 RBI in 419 plate appearances in High-A Ball last year.

Wieters could be a logical successor to Molina next offseason.                                                                             Tommy Gilligan, USA TODAY Sports
Wieters could be a logical successor to Molina next offseason.                                                                             Tommy Gilligan, USA TODAY Sports /

In the free agent market, the team could potentially pursue Matt Wieters, as his contract with the Orioles expires after this year. However, if Kelly doesn’t pan out and the team can’t land someone like Wieters in the near future, they might be at a position of weakness at catcher.

That certainly isn’t something they’re used to.

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