The Cardinals announced today that franchise legend Yadier Molina has been hired as special assistant to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. His duties will be focused on catching and game planning strategy.
“We are happy to welcome Yadi back to the Cardinals organization,” said Bloom in a statement, as relayed by John Denton of MLB.com. “He is an elite competitor, a consistent winner, and one of the greatest ever at his position, and we look forward to many contributions during his visits with us in this new role, both in and out of uniform. Yadi will provide input on our catching program, will advise our staff on catching and game planning strategy, and will give me and our front office valuable perspective from his unique vantage point. Perhaps most important, he will help us nurture in our players the high standards, attention to detail, and championship mindset that are so critical to winning.”
Fans in the St. Louis area are well familiar with Molina and his many accolades. He played for the Cardinals for nearly 20 years, beginning in 2004 and sticking around through 2022. His offense was up-and-down over his career but great at his peak. Even when his bat was on the lighter side, he provided value with his defense and intangible abilities as a team leader. Along the way, he made ten All-Star teams, won nine Gold Gloves and helped the Cards win titles in 2006 and 2011.
Due to those leadership qualities, he has long been seen as a future coach or manager, and he has expressed a desire to pursue those jobs. He has gained some managerial experience in a few Latin American leagues. He also managed the Puerto Rican team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and is slated to do the same for this year’s version.
He and the Cards have previously broached the subject of him returning to the organization for a dugout role with them. Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, family commitments have been an obstacle to him taking on a full-time gig so far. Perhaps that will come to fruition in the future. For now, Molina will help the club in this role.
The Cards are in a rebuilding phase where they will be focusing on developing young players. That includes a cluster of catchers including Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés, Yohel Pozo, Leonardo Bernal, Jimmy Crooks, Rainiel Rodriguez and others. Molina will presumably be working closely with those guys as they try to absorb some of what made him such a great backstop during his career. If he does eventually commit to a coaching job in the future, the building of relationships with those catchers will have a head-start.
Photo courtesy of Jake Roth, Imagn Images