Yadier Molina is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals on a one-year deal, according to reporting from Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Contract details have yet to be announced.
Yadier Molina back to Cards. 1 year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2021
Molina has spent the entirety of his 17-year career with the Cardinals, and he is one of the most beloved players in team history–likely behind only the legendary Albert Pujols in terms of importance to the franchise over the course of the past two decades.
The talented catcher is 38 years old now, making him the second-oldest player in the MLB behind only–you guessed it–his former Cardinals teammate Pujols.
During his storied tenure with the Cardinals, Yadier (who is the brother of former MLB catchers Bengie and Jose Molina) has made nine All-Star teams and helped deliver two World Series wins to St. Louis.
The stalwart catcher has been with the Cardinals through thick and thin. He has played over 110 games in 15 of the 17 seasons he’s played in the league, which is an incredible achievement in durability for a position that is usually quite difficult to play as a player advances in age.
Molina is known for his tremendous discipline behind the plate, as well as his ability to hold runners on base and throw them out while trying to steal. Molina has led the league in caught stealing percentage an impressive four times across his career: in 2005 (64 percent for his career-high), 2007 (54 percent), 2010 (49 percent) and 2014 (48 percent).
According to Baseball Reference, Molina is now 13th on the Cardinals’ all-time leaders in WAR, ahead of Hall of Famers Joe Medwick and Johnny Mize, as well as notable names throughout the team history such as Jim Edmonds, Ray Lankford and Keith Hernandez.
Cardinals fans will surely be happy to see their team talisman return for one more year.
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