Cardinals and Molina Close to Deal
If you haven’t heard by now, 2017 will be a contract year for Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, unless his agent and John Mozeliak can come to terms on an extension within the next four days. As we all remember with Albert Pujols, that can be easier said than done.
I expect this situation to be different, though, than the one six years ago. Molina, like Pujols, obviously wants to get paid what he deserves, but, unlike Pujols, I don’t foresee Yadi asking for more than he deserves. The Cardinals have already made it known that they are willing to make Molina one of, if not the highest paid catchers in baseball. However, the money is not where I think there may be a problem.
Yadier, who will be 35 in July, will likely want the next contract he signs, to be his last. What I mean is, he may want a longer deal than the Cardinals are willing to give him. It sounds like they are close to coming to an agreement, but, if there is any problem, I would guess it is with the amount of years the Cardinals are willing to eat on the back end of his contract.
As I mentioned before, Molina is getting up there in age, especially for a baseball player. This could potentially be a problem for the Cardinals, or at least you might think so. Molina had one of the best second halves in baseball last year, hitting .365 with 22 doubles, bringing his average up from .259 in the first half, to .307 to finish out the season. That .307 ranked as the third best average of his career, at the age of 34. When you look at other hall of fame catchers, Carlton Fisk who hit 37 home runs at the age of 37, and hit .293 at age 41, and .285 at 42, Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez, .281 at age 35 and .295 at 36 (until he was traded), and Mike Piazza who hit 22 home runs with a .283 average at the age of 37, you can see that great catchers have the ability to stay productive late in their 30’s.
With Molina, though, it’s not all about the numbers on the stat sheet. He brings many intangibles to the table that are priceless to a team like the Cardinals. He is the best in the business at handling pitching staffs, and young pitchers, which the Cards always seem to have. Also, the Cardinals will soon be introducing top catching prospect Carson Kelly to the big leagues, and who better to mentor him, than Yadier Molina. It’s those unmeasurable attributes that make signing Molina to a four or five-year deal, much easier for the Cardinals. Any production out of him during the last two or three years of his contract, will be a bonus.
I look for Molina and the Cardinals to reach an agreement before the season opener, on Sunday. I expect the deal will be for four to five years, and likely average close to $20 million per year. And all things considered, it will be a smart move by the St. Louis front office.
