Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals are continuing to talk about keeping the catcher with the only MLB team he's ever played for and avoiding a second consecutive offseason of the franchise icon reaching free agency.
Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that the Cardinals "are in discussions" with the 10-time All-Star on a one-year contract extension. Woo added that Molina's camp is hoping to at least match the $9 million total that he's playing for in 2021.
Molina -- who turned 39 last month -- recently told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he hoped to avoid a stint in free agency this offseason and have a new deal done "early." Goold added that the plan was for his representatives at MDR Sports Management to soon broach the idea of a new deal with John Mozeliak and company.
In 2021, Molina is slashing .256/.303/.378 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs. The four-time Platinum Glove Award winner remains a strong defender even at this advanced stage of his career, as he's posted five defensive runs saved this season.
The Puerto Rican-born backstop is the only catcher in MLB history with 18 seasons played for the same team. He's also 5th on the all-time innings caught list, behind only Ivan Rodriguez, Carlton Fisk, Bob Boone and Jason Kendall.
This year Molina has also surpassed his close friend Albert Pujols to take over 4th on the Cardinals' all-time hits list and could be 3rd by the end of this season.
If this deal comes together, as well as the return of his buddy Adam Wainwright, the pair could continue to rise the all-time list for most starts as a combined battery. Right now they are 4th and just 20 starts away from surpassing Red Faber & Ray Schalk of the Chicago White Sox.
At 61-58, the Cardinals find themselves 12 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, and 4 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
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