Cardinals facing serious competition for Yadier Molina in free agency
By Scott Rogust
Yadier Molina, the longtime St. Louis Cardinal, is talking to three other teams in free agency
After an early exit in the expanded MLB postseason, the St. Louis Cardinals made a staggering number of moves in terms of team options. Catcher Yadier Molina had his option declined by the organization, along with pitcher Adam Wainwright and second baseman Kolton Wong. While Molina is a free agent, the Cardinals are still interested in bringing the veteran back. However, they have some competition.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, Molina has been contacted by three other teams regarding a potential contract since free agency began on Sunday. Morosi notes that, per his agent Melvin Roman, Molina is looking to play for two more seasons.
Yadier Molina has been contacted by 3 teams in addition to the #STLCards since free agency began, his agent, Melvin Roman, told me today. Molina, 38, wants to play for 2 more seasons and will listen to clubs' proposals with that objective in mind, Roman said. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 2, 2020
Cardinals have 25-percent chance of bringing back Molina
The Cardinals and Molina were previously trying to work on a contract extension earlier this year, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement. In fact, Molina told ESPN’s Marly Rivera back in April that he would be open to joining another team. The catcher said in the past that he would rather retire than join another organization if he couldn’t agree to terms with the Cardinals, but the coronavirus pandemic caused him to change his stance.
It’s truly hard to envision Molina don anything other than a Cardinals uniform, but he’s willing to test the open market to see if a team can meet his demands. In fact, there are teams in desperate need of a veteran catcher that can give a quality defensive effort behind home plate. Molina, the nine-time Gold Glove winner, is the perfect candidate for those catcher-needy teams.
In this 60-game shortened season, Molina slashed .262/.303/.359 while recording 38 hits, four home runs and 16 RBI. In 42 games behind home plate, Molina posted a fielding percentage of 98.5, where he was tagged for just five errors and three passed balls.
St. Louis knew the risk of declining Molina’s option and now they’l have to fend off other teams if they want to make the catcher a career-Cardinal.
Next. 5 teams that should sign Yadier Molina in free agency. dark