Adam Wainwright has spent his entire 15-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but as he experiences his first time being a free agent, Missouri's other team has reportedly checked in on him.
Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported Monday evening that the Kansas City Royals have interest in Wainwright, a three-time All-Star. Morosi cautions that the Royals "don't appear to be frontrunners" to sign Wainwright, but does note that Mike Matheny, the former Cardinals' manager, is now the skipper in Kansas City. Heck, Wainwright has been in the league so long that he was in the Cardinals' farm system during the tail end of Matheny's five seasons catching for the redbirds.
In an offseason where many are pinching pennies, the Royals have been among the most active teams early on. The Royals re-signed reliever Greg Holland, and have inked free-agent deals with Carlos Santana, Mike Minor and Michael A. Taylor. In addition to their interest in Wainwright, ESPN's Jeff Passan says that the Royals are among the teams interested in free-agent infielder Jurickson Profar, so it's interesting to see Dayton Moore and company zig, while the rest of the league zags.
As far as the Cardinals stand, they find themselves in an interesting position this offseason, with two franchise icons - Wainwright and Yadier Molina - having reached free agency.
Even at 39, Wainwright remains an effective starter. Over the past two seasons, Wainwright is 19-13 with a 3.91 ERA and 4.29 FIP across 237 1/3 innings. Gone are the days of him being a frontline starter, but if the Cardinals didn't re-sign him, they'd certainly miss his presence in their rotation.
Meanwhile, Molina is very much in the same boat. His bat has declined, but he was still worth one defensive run saved in 2020, adding onto one of the greatest defensive legacies that a catcher has ever had. RADIO.COM MLB Insider Jon Heyman reported at the outset of the offseason that Molina, 38, is targeting a two-year deal. We don't yet know if he'll get it, but with the Cardinals and Molina seemingly not close on a new deal, the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres have emerged as suitors for the nine-time All-Star.
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