St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina drawing interest around majors
By David Hill
It was expected that Yadier Molina would return to the St. Louis Cardinals. That may not be the foregone conclusion it once was.
One could understand if Yadier Molina‘s foray into free agency was not taken seriously. It was expected that he would see what offers were out there, then come back to the St. Louis Cardinals, where the two sides would hammer out an agreement. Molina would end his career in St. Louis, his number would be retired, and that would be the only team he would ever play for.
But that might not happen. While Molina stated his desire to return to the Cardinals, he also mentioned that four other teams have shown interest in his services.
Yadier quiere quedarse en San Luis, Planea jugar dos años más, le manda un consejo a Gary Sánchez, habla del caso de Canó y mucho más. Veanla completa https://t.co/FvpGixznKr pic.twitter.com/l4wa6Y3nbD
— Laura Bonnelly (@laurabonnellyv) November 26, 2020
Molina is not the player he once was. His bat has not been the same over the past two seasons, as he has produced a .268/.310/.388 batting line with 14 homers and 26 doubles in his 608 plate appearances. He is still making plenty of contact, but time is catching up with his offense.
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Defensively, however, Molina has still been one of the top catchers in the game. A nine time Gold Glove winner, Molina may be the greatest defensive catcher in the history of the game, having saved an MLB record 149 runs defensively. He still has a strong arm and excellent range behind the plate, more than offsetting his decreased production in the batter’s box.
There are other concerns for any interested team. Molina is looking for a two year deal, presumably to end his career wherever he signs. His defensive prowess makes him worth such a contract, but it is uncertain whether a team outside of the Cardinals would value him to that degree. Likewise, his offense, while it is down from his usual levels, is still better than the average at the position.
To this point, there is not much to dissuade anyone from expecting that Molina will return to St. Louis. His contract requests make it difficult to imagine that he would go anywhere else. But the fact that four other teams are interested leaves that door open, as unlikely as it may be.
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Yadier Molina is not a given to return to the St. Louis Cardinals. Four other teams have interest in his services.