Earlier this week we found out that Gold Glove backstop Yadier Molina tabled contract discussions with the St. Louis Cardinals. Yesterday the agent for Molina, who’s entering the final year of his contract, made it clear that his client is not interested in negotiating an extension during the regular season. At this point it appears that any agreement reached by the Cardinals and Molina won’t come until the offseason.
In speaking with Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Molina’s agent Melvin Roman confirmed that once the season begins his client will be focused on bringing another championship to St. Louis. While that leaves a small window for contract negotiations to take place this spring, talks have been tabled for the time being.
According to Roman, he’s unsure how long this hiatus will last. When asked when talks are expected to resume, Roman said “it could be tomorrow. It could be two days. It could be two weeks”. The only thing that Roman was sure of concerning negotiations was the fact that if the Cardinals want Molina back, he’ll come back.
There’s no question in my mind that St. Louis would like to have their All-Star catcher in the fold for the long haul. Molina has also made it clear that he’s interested in remaining with the club that drafted him in 2000.
That being said, both sides have indicated that negotiations will be all business. Molina has said that he’s not necessarily interested in giving the Cardinals a hometown discount. Instead Molina is looking to take care of his family and, one way or another, hopes to get paid as one of the best catchers in the game.
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