ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The legendary career of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina will end after next season. He confirmed it on Wednesday, after signing a one-year extension to keep him in St. Louis for a 19th and final year.
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Molina, 39, was drafted by St. Louis in 2000 and has spent every year of his MLB career with the Cardinals. He was a free agent for the first time after the 2020 season, but returned on a one-year deal. He signed another one-year deal reportedly worth $10 million for next year.
President of baseball operations John Mozeliak introduced Molina at a press conference on Wednesday, then Molina announced his plans. You can listen to the full press conference here:
He express his desire to stay close to the Cardinals after retirement.
"I can't wait to put that red jacket on," Molina said, talking about the Cardinals Hall of Fame. "The way they take care of legends in this organization is great, I want to do that too."
Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright have mad 298 starts together, good for 4th all-time as a battery in MLB history. He says he'd love to have Wainwright also come back next season with him.
"I would love for that to happen," Molina said. "Hopefully Waino and Mo get together and find a way to get this done. I would love to finish my career with him.
Wainwright signed a one-year deal for this season.
Molina’s 18 seasons played solely for the Cardinals, trail only Stan Musial’s record 22 seasons. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the 4th round (113th overall selection) of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft out of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
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Having made his major league debut in June of 2004, Molina is currently the longest-tenured player with any club in baseball. Molina made his 10th All-Star team in 2021, and the nine-time Gold Glove Award winner remains an above-average defender, as he has 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.
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