ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals and Yadier Molina have agreed to terms on a contract extension.
Katie Woo of The Athletic reported the one-year deal is worth $10 million.
Molina, 39, is a nine-time Gold Glove winner, four-time Platinum Glove winner, and a 10-time National League All-Star. He’s played every game of his 18-year career with the Cardinals.
The extension will carry Molina through the 2022 MLB season. He trails on Stan Musial (22) for most seasons played solely for the Cardinals.
He holds franchise records in games caught (2,080), starts at catcher (2,014), innings caught (17,441.2), pick-offs (52), putouts (14,446), total chances (15,551), caught stealing percentage (40.4%), and sacrifice flies (73).
Molina ranks third among all Cardinals for games played (2,119) and at-bats (7,455), fourth in doubles (397) and total hits (2,089), seventh in RBI (983) and total bases (3,004), and 10th in home runs (168) and extra base hits (572).
Molina is only the 11th primary Major League catcher to record 2,000 hits over his career.
No. 4 and teammate Adam Wainwright rank fourth all-time in Major League history in games started as battery mates (298 games).
In the postseason, Molina is the active leader in Major League postseason games played and hits (both 101). He’s appeared in 11 postseasons, more than any other Cardinal in team history.
Molina won the 2018 Roberto Clemente Award for off-the-field service. His philanthropic efforts include Foundation 4, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of underprivileged children in his native Puerto Rico. Following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Molina helped raise over $800,000 in recovery funds.
The Cardinals catcher has played in every World Baseball Classic for his homeland, totaling 20 games. Puerto Rico was the runner-up in the 2017 event.
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