ST. LOUIS – Yadier Molina returned to the St. Louis Cardinals dugout this weekend, marking his first appearance since his 19-year playing career ended in 2022. The 43-year-old former catcher was in uniform as a coach for a game on Friday night and repeated the experience on Saturday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium.
Molina did not hesitate to accept Marmol’s invitation to join the coaching staff.I think it will be a good time. It’s 48 hours, but even the short period, I mean, we spent a little time together, but even that in itself was fun, and also for the other guys.
Oliver Marmol, Cardinals manager
Molina rejoined the organization as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, on December 6, 2023, but had not been at Busch Stadium since attending the retirement ceremony of his longtime teammate, Adam Wainwright, at the end of the 2023 season. Molina will manage Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but mentioned that he will wait at least a year after that before considering a full-time position as a Major League coach. That’s the plan. I’m done with my son. Right now he’s in his senior year of high school. After he finishes school, that’s probably when he’ll start training in the Major Leagues. With a possible coaching career on the horizon, the 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner is focused on the present. He will spend a portion of his 48-hour stay in St. Louis working with the team’s catchers.It was great news when Oli invited me. I said to myself, why not go there, see some baseball and try to help the team improve? We have some young guys who really need some experience that I can bring and show them. I’m happy to help.
Yadier Molina
The Cardinals have had a 212-228 record without qualifying for the postseason since Molina retired, but the long-time catcher believes the future is promising.When I signed with the Cardinals, I always wanted to meet him. He’s been my favorite player since I was young, but now that I have him here, it’s like, oh my God. It’s like a dream come true. Having him here, I spoke with him a bit and the way he speaks, the way he expresses himself is really nice.
Yohel Pozo, Cardinals catcher
You have to go game by game. We are in a position that we don’t like right now. Obviously, we have to play better baseball, but I think we’re there. We have the talent. I’m a fan of this team. I feel like we play the small game very well. We run the bases well. The pitchers need to be more stable, but anything can happen. It’s happened before. We’re eight games back. That’s nothing.
Yadier Molina
