If Yadier Molina calls it quits after next season, he will finish his career with the only team that he's ever known.
Katie Woo of The Athletic reports that the St. Louis Cardinals and Molina have reached a one-year/$10 million pact for the 2022 season. Audacy Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman confirmed the report.
The Cardinals confirmed the reports on Tuesday afternoon.
At $10 million, that would make Molina the fifth-highest paid catcher in baseball next season. Behind J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies ($23.8M), Buster Posey of the Giants ($22M), Yasmani Grandal of the White Sox ($18.2M) and Salvador Perez of the Royals ($18M), according to Spotrac.com.
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.
Molina is slashing .259/.304/.376 in 94 games for the Cardinals this season, having homered eight times and driven in 51 runs. The 39-year-old is playing on a one-year/$9 million deal that he signed after reaching free agency for the first time last winter.
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.
If a new deal also comes together for 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 with one more season could surpass Red Faber & Ray Schalk of the Chicago White Sox.
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