The Cardinals announced a five-year, $75MM contract extension with catcher Yadier Molina this afternoon. The deal includes a no-trade clause and a mutual option for 2018 that's worth an additional $15MM. Molina is represented by Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management.
Molina, 29, is considered by many to be the game's best defensive catcher. His offense took a leap forward in 2011, as he posted a .305/.349/.465 line in 518 plate appearances. Molina has been durable, averaging 145 games over the last three years including the postseason. The $15MM salary and five-year term probably represents market value for Molina, but it may have been more difficult for GM John Mozeliak to hammer out a deal after the season.
Molina's contract is the third-largest in baseball history for a backstop, behind Joe Mauer's $184MM and Mike Piazza's $91MM. On the Cardinals, Molina is second only to Matt Holliday in average annual value. This is Molina's second multiyear deal with the Cardinals, as they locked him up affordably four years ago.
The 2012-13 free agent class for catchers remains deep with Molina off the board, with Miguel Montero, Mike Napoli, Russell Martin, and Chris Iannetta.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first tweeted the news and added existence of the vesting option later on. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the value of the contract. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first said the deal was all but done and Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch first reported the mutual option.
Good, now let’s get the season started!
I like Molina as much as the next guy, but 5 years/$75M is just insane given his age and recent workload behind the plate.
Going to fascinating to see what the other guys(Martin/Montero) will ask for/get this off season.
“given his age”
He’s 29 and signing a 5 year deal. At a time when it’s getting common for guys to sign huge deals until they are 38-40, I hardly find it “insane” to sign a guy until he’s 34.
The 5 years are in addition to his age 29-30 season. So he’ll be 35 in the middle of his last contract season. Making 15 million.
Sounds about right to me.
But he is a catcher which historically, fans assume that they age faster than other position players or pitchers.
I remember seeing a post on fangraphs about this which argues otherwise.
However, I still think it is a pricey contract for defense-minded catcher.
Anyways, is Molina still be batting mostly at number 6?
I think it’s a pretty fair contract. While his bat definitely takes a backseat to his defense, obviously, it’s more than adequate. Molina’s been clutch over the years for us. He’s a tough out, too, which is more than a lot of catchers can say.
To answer your question, I see him holding down the 6 spot this year.
read it again: “given his age *AND* recent workload behind the plate”
In November 2000, the Pirates gave 3-time All-Star C Jason Kendall a 6 year/$60M extension, running from 2002-07 (his age 28-33 seasons). Kendall had played in 810 games from 1996-2001 (including 27 games in the OF in 2001), hitting to a 112 OPS+, good for 21.0 bWAR. He missed half the season due to injury in 1999. For comparison purposes, Yadier Molina already has 910 career games at C over 8 seasons, a career 88 OPS+, and a career total of 14.1 bWAR.
unlike Molina, Kendall was never really known for his defense, but his skillset included a high OBP and few strikeouts, which figured to age at least somewhat gracefully. And indeed, in Kendall’s first 3 seasons in that extension (2002-2004), he played in an average of 147 games/year while hitting a respectable 102 OPS+, good for a total of 10.5 bWAR while making $24.7M.
In the last three years of the extension (2005-07, after being traded with cash to Oakland), he was still good for an average of 143 games/year, but he hit to the tune of a 77 OPS+ while posting a total of 3.5 bWAR and making $34.9M.
In Kendall’s age 34-35 seasons combined, he played in an average of 142 games/year but posted an OPS+ of 73 and 2.1 total bWAR, albeit at a total cost of $9.25M on his 2-year contract with the Brewers. Now keep in mind, Kendall was a catcher than “aged normally” according to Dave Cameron’s recent article on Molina’s extension at Fangraphs.
In summary, although Kendall still had a few good years left in him, the dollars and length of his contract extension made it insane. But that said, at least it was better than Molina’s extension… even if there wasn’t a no-trade clause, it would be near impossible for the Cardinals to trade him.
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edited to fix a typo, and also to note that a no-trade clause was part of Molina’s deal (last sentence).
Great comparison! The greatest part of Kendall was that he played more than any other catcher year over year, and had top-of-the-lineup skills for a catcher. Still a bad contract like you said…just like this has the makings of.
What would Carlos Ruiz get now? Ruiz is a poor mans version of Yadier to me
“Aged normally” was used as a relative term in that Fangraphs article. Most of the catchers examined aged even better.
The facts are that Molina has more wear and tear in him than Kendall did at the same age, his career hitting metrics are worse than Kendall’s were, and he’s being paid an average of $5M/season more than Kendall during their extensions.
I’m sure Molina still has a few good seasons in him, just like Kendall did. But anyone expecting Molina to age better than Kendall — better than “normal”, despite the facts listed above — is likely to be terribly disappointed in 2015 or 2016.
First of all, with the way MLB salaries have risen, you can’t directly compare the amounts of Kendall’s and Molina’s extensions.
Third, Molina’s offensive value is only secondary to his defensive value (where you admit that Kendall didn’t excel), so it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t hit as well as Kendall did.
Third, that Fangraphs article also listed Pudge Rodriguez (an excellent defensive catcher with decent offense like Molina) and several other catchers with just as much wear as Molina by his age, aging very well into the first half of their 30s.
To put them in the same category of “decent” offensive catchers sells Rodriguez’s accomplishments a little short.
From age 21 to 28 …
Molina: .274/.331/.377
3 time All-Star and 4 Golden Gloves
Rodriguez:.311/.349/.501
8 time All-Star, 8 Golden Gloves, 6 Silver Sluggers and 1 MVP
What’s amazing is that Rodriguez never made more than $12.5M in a season and we’re talking about handing Molina $15M.
First, with that extension Kendall was the second highest paid catcher (behind only Mike Piazza) at the time, and about $4M more than I-Rod made over the same seasons. Where does Molina’s extension rank him among active catchers? Please also note that Kendall made $12.8M in the last year of his extension, in 2007. I’d bet that Molina will likewise be grossly overpaid at the end of his extension.
“Third”, Molina needs to earn his paycheck one way or another. Even if Molina is healthy, it will be quite a remarkable feat to produce enough WAR based on defense alone to justify the final years of that contract.
Third, as noted by gmenfan, Rodriguez and Molina are nowhere near in the same class. Pudge is a lock for the HoF, joining Gary Carter and Johnny Bench from that “aged well” list. Ted Simmons isn’t a good comp either as he appeared in over 100 games as a C in just one season after turning 30 (fortunately, he could also play 1B and DH). But if you want to say that Molina will age just as well as Benito Santiago or Darrell Porter, go right ahead. I don’t think reaching either of those outcomes mean Molina will “earn” his paycheck by the end of the extension.
Who cares which of them is in the Hall or Hall bound? The point is that Fangraphs showed that early heavy workloads for catchers doesn’t correlate with an earlier than usual aging dropoff for catchers in general.
I don’t expect Molina to produce enough “WAR,” as he’s always been highly underrated by it due to how horribly inaccurate it is for catcher defense.
Molina doesn’t actually have to earn his salary in the final couple of seasons. He just needs to provide enough value in those final seasons to provide pretty good value over the entire extension. He can easily be worth over $15M in the first couple years, and don’t forget that he’s been underpaid in his current contract including only making $7M this year.
“Aged normally” was used as a relative term in that Fangraphs article. Most of the catchers examined aged even better.
The no-trade clause is largely irrelevent, considering that he’ll have 10/5 rights in a couple years (early season 2014 I believe), and the Cards weren’t likely to trade him before then anyway.
And I’m not sure Kendall is a good comparison, since he was such a unique player for the position in that his legs were a big part of his game and they are also the very thing that is likely to most deteriorate with the grind of catching. Yadi was never gonna win any races so I would argue that’s minimized with him.
Just look at his brothers for a better comparison. They aged quite well into their 30s, especially offensively, and Yadi has always been regarded as the best of the three.
I understand where you’re coming from, but Kendall’s legs had nothing to do with his ability to work the strike zone. Maybe the deteriorating legs was one of the reasons he lost the ability to hit for power, or maybe it was just playing in Oakland.
And I don’t think comparing Yadier to his brothers does Yadier justice, either. Bengie accumulated a total of 1.1 bWAR after his age 30 season, while Jose has 1.2 bWAR since his age 30 season. I sincerely hope Yadier Molina can do better than that.
He certainly can do better, evidenced by the fact that he HAS done better than his brothers to this point in their respective careers.
I’m honestly not a guy that looks at WAR much or has these sorts of discussions a lot, so feel free to correct me if I get any of this wrong, but you’re looking at baseball reference for these numbers? If so, it strikes me as disingenuous to put up their post-30 year old WARs and say: “look, they didn’t do anything!” The comparison I’m making between Yadi and his brothers is not for overall production, which I think you understand. But you’re pretty much saying that his brothers’ production fell off significantly after they turned 30? If so, I don’t really see it.
Bengie had about as many pre-30-year-old seasons of 0.4 or 0.5 WAR than he did after 30 (especially if you take out that 2010 WAR of -0.6 with two different teams when he was 35, which is admittedly ugly).
Jose’s 26-28 year old seasons were 0.4, 0.4, and -0.7 respectively. So the fact that he didn’t do much after 30 doesn’t mean that his production fell off, it just means he was the worst player of the three Molinas.
All I’m saying by comparing Yadi to his brothers is that there’s evidence to suggest that he’ll still be roughly the same player up to 34 as he has been to this point in his career (I know the deal takes him to 35, the option year to 36). And that evidence suggests that Yadi’s increase in power numbers last year was no fluke (which a quick look at Bengie’s HR numbers seems to support).
Can a reasonable argument be made that the Cards overpaid? Certainly. And you’ve made some good points to that end. (Of course that’s not even taking into account the multitude of intangibles that Yadi brings to the table, which have been noted all over this thread by others already.)
But to say that the contract is “insane” – as you did above – is just hyperbole.
Its better than spending 250 Million on Albert Pujols…. Thats for sure!
I love Yadier but do you think he’s worth $15MM per? And do you like giving a catcher a long-term deal?
Teams are being very loose with money this offseason. Unless one im forgetting the only one that i really like is fielder’s contract, specifically because they get rid of him at age 36 and he is a one of the best hitters in majors.
Wow, good guess.
People complaining about whether the Cardinals can afford it need to look at the facts. In our most recent story, we detail how the team is shedding over $66MM by the end of 2013. Molina’s $7MM raise is nothing.
Sure, they can afford it. They could have afforded $2 million less even easier.
“Can spend” and “should spend” are what has always separated the Cardinals from some of the other franchises in the National League. Rarely have the Cardinals paid at or above market value for key players, which allows them to win on a limitted budget. This is an exception.
We’ll never know what Molina would have gotten on the open market. This deal could be right, an overpay, or even an underpay. I personally don’t think he gets $15 million on the open market. Just because the Cardinals can afford the $15 million doesn’t mean that they should have, if they could have gotten him for a couple million less.
I think Molina’s market would’ve been in the $13MM-$15MM range in free agency. Are the Cardinals “overpaying?” Slightly. But, they (a) radically underpaid him for seven years, (b) need someone of his caliber and experience to handle and guide the young arms coming into the rotation in the next three years, and (c) need more time to groom a successor to him since they currently do not have one.
Molina has been one of the most important players on the team for years. He has been the emotional center of the team. You keep guys like that … they are few and far between.
At $15MM he better bring more than the emotional center. His defense is the best, his offense good enough but no way he gets $15MM on the open market. Look how much the Red Sox were willing to pay Varitek for his big contract in his prime, roughly 2/3 the money the Cards just paid.
Come opening day though, he will be a Cardinal & price wont matter
Are you referring to the contract he signed in 2001/2002? Ten years ago? Times have changed.
All of the elite catchers (who are past the rookie/arb stage) are earning over $11MM a year. The market for catchers is terribly thin, too – had Molina reached free agency, he would have been the premiere catcher for hire. He would’ve had a $15MM offer from some big market team for sure. One team comes to mind quickly – the Angels need a catcher after 2012.
In 2011, three catchers earned $11 million or more, according to USA today. Joe Mauer ($23 million), Jorge Posada ($13.2 million) and Victor Martinez ($12 million).
Mauer is in a world of his own, as is his contract, but it is hard to think of Posada and Martinez being comparables either. Martinez isn’t even a catcher – he’s a DH.
If your statement is true about elite catchers, it is because the sample size is ridiculously small. Most of the current “elite” catchers (other than Mauer, who may or may not even be a catcher) are still too young. McCann, Montero, Wieters – none of them have been able to test free agency yet.
I’d be interested to see the salary commanded by Montero or McCann before passing judgement. One or both should be in the neighborhood of $12 million if Molina’s deal was reasonable.
@jred1979:disqus Beat me to the punch Jred, well said
@rayderousse:disqus Ray, Yadier is a very solid catcher and his biggest asset is defense. But teams don’t spend large amounts on defensive catchers. Is he elite? That’s open to interpretation. when I think elite i think Mauer, Pudge, etc. catchers who are heads & above every other catcher.
Worth every penny! With the immense number of pitching prospects in the minor leagues this move was essential going forward for the Birds.
Can’t wait for the 8th!
I’m sure the Cardinals could have extended him for many many pennies less.
they are going to have flexibility with more cost controlled players on the way. This is the deepest the Cards minor league system has ever been. Molina is a cornerstone of the franchise and while he did receive market value before he hit the open market, its done and thats all most Cards fans are going to care about.
I wish people would understand that there is a big difference between “have the money to spend” and “should spend the money”.
If the Cardinals had $5 million more available this year, Oswalt would be in the rotation, and Westbrook would be riding pine. $3 million could have been the difference between Skip Shumaker and a real second baseman. The Cardinals also would have loved to retain Octavio Dotel for a veteran presence in the bullpen, but couldn’t afford it, despite his lower price tag.
This may or may not be a bad signing, and I can’t guarantee that he wouldn’t have gotten as much or more on the open market, but I hate seeing fans use variations of the “we have the money, so it doesn’t matter if we overpay” argument. Every penny counts – even they Yankees have a budget.
(Edit made to correct typo on Skip Shumaker’s position)
skip schumaker is a second baseman, and as of right now the starting job
goes to taylor greene. As for third base, isn’t David Freese last
year’s finals’ mvp? I think that makes him a real third baseman
I apologize for the typo (moving to quickly). I have no confidence in either Tyler Greene or Skip Shumaker at second base. That is the position I intended (edit made).
And it turns out, I can’t spell “too” either…. *grumble*
I did not have confidence in Ryan Theriot last year… who cares. We won the World Series & he is gone. Who cares???
Is David Tyree and elite wide receiver?
World Series MVP does not equal “real” baseball player. A seven game performance hardly correlates to the next 162 game season.
Let’s look at recent World Series MVP winners:
-David Eckstein, posted a fangraphs WAR of 1.0 the next year
-Hideki Matsui, WAR of 1.5 the next year
-Edgar Renteria, WAR of .9
Sure David Freese could prove to be a good third basemen, but winning the World Series MVP is no indicator of that
what are finals? are we talking basketball?
I don’t even know where to start with that post. Let’s just say every point you tried to make was wrong.
A couple of quick points…no one knows how much it would take to sign Oswalt or how healthy he is and although I would love Oswalt, and I believe he is an upgrade to Westbrook, paying Westbrook to ride the bench or be an expensive swing man doesn’t make the Cardinals better because Westbrook would take a spot from someone younger who should be in the pen. Also, Westbrook maybe the best fifth starter in the NL as it is. He is at least in the conversation…Oswalt just wasn’t a good fit with the birds…Schumaker has never and will never play 3B. David Freese is the Cardinal third baseman. Skip is a UTILITY man. He will play second and all 3 OF spots, and IMO is very underrated…Octavio Dotel left because the Cardinals have at least 5 cheaper RH bullpen arms that are comparable or better…Although I agree that working within a budget is true, the team sets the budget. The Cardinals could easily afford a $150mil payroll if the owners were not concerned about the bottom line. As owners, I think that they shouldn’t cut their profits by that margin at all, but they CAN “afford” more than you think they can…Good teams build through excellent drafts, consistent, cost controlled farm system talent, resigning their vets who they deem as necessary guys, supplement pieces in free agency, and avoid injuries. The Cardinals just signed a guy who they deem necessary and paid handsomely for him. That is the market for quality players and you are correct, it may not pan out, but it is a bet that I can live with to keep Molina for the foreseeable future.
Third base for Shumaker was a typo (which has since been edited). My point (which apparently wasn’t clear) comes from Cardinals history. They almost never overpay. The Cardinals win championships by getting value. I think Molina is worth almost exactly what he got. That isn’t value.
I’m not calling this a bad singing. I think it more likely he gets less in free agency (because teams undervalue defense), but we’ll never know. What I am arguing is that you shouldn’t spend money just because you “can”. The original poster stated that it was ok, because they have payroll flexibility with young cheap talent. I think the flexibility to overpay a player could be used to upgrade a different position instead, and the team would be better for it.
not a chance… he would be wearing amother jersey next season.
I disagree. I bet the Cards could have got him for $60 mil
That’s more than I thought he’d get paid, but still worth it. His bat keeps getting better. Cards will probably 3-peat now.
That’s a bad deal. He’s already caught nearly 1000 games before the age of thirty and averaged 138 caught the past three years. He got suspiciously more powerful this year after seven years in the league. He had a .371 SLG from ’07-’10 averaging 6 HR and 19 doubles and jumps to a .465 SLG with 14 HR & 32 doubles. I’m betting he reverts back to his pre 2011 form which is a great defensive catcher with a respectable bat not worth anywhere near $15M per year.
Probably a good deal: after the contract ends, his skills will be fading like they did for Pudge.
too much AAV but good chance he’ll be worth it. Even if he isn’t, I’m glad that we extended him.
lol 5/75. what a joke
It’s not a hometown discount but the Cardinals need Molina long term and now they get him; they have a ton of young pitchers coming up over the next three years and now they have a premium position nailed down and cost controlled. I like it
Gotta love the mutual options. Other than the extra million or so on the buyout, is there any less useful or valuable clause?
Mauers contract is absolutely insane.
Mauer is absolutely insane
makes Kansas City’s Sal Perez deal look even better.
damn. thats another 5 years of tim mccarver only taking about the molinas.
Worse contract than Pujols
I bet with Matheny being manager, he will help Molina more on catching and with McGwire as a hitting coach, then the is why his numbers being increasing. Who knows if he will have another good season or 2.
Definitely a pretty substantial overpay. I would say by about 15M. Guy is a great defensive catcher and team mate but not a 15M a season player. I would have gone 10M, 11M, 12M, 13M, 14M to give him an even 60M and maybe then toss in some typical incentives like 200K for gold gloves, 500K-1M WS MVP type of stuff. I like that the contract will end at his 35 season though so it gives the Cards some solid security. Glad he is staying a Cardinal.
A little bit of overpayment, but a necessary overpayment. Yadi is the most popular player on the team and it would make the organization look even worse to lose another face of their franchise. In addition, the Cardinals have a young and very talented pitching staff coming up, ie Martinez and Miller, and having a smart catcher behind the plate will do wonders for them. He can handle the pitching staff and he is a weapon behind the dish. Furthermore, I’ll always love Yadi for the spat with Phillips! I’d much rather see him here than Alberto. Enjoy California and let’s go Rangers!
Yadier will be 30 on July 13 so the Redbirds are committing $72M to their catcher when he is about to enter the period of his career when many catchers begin to physically break down. Of course older brothers Benjie and Jose Molina are still playing into their late 30’s…so the Cards front office must be banking on blood being thicker than water, genetically speaking, to commit so much money to their star catcher, for so long.