With Yadier Molina and the Cardinals in talks about a coaching job for the longtime catcher, Molina discussed the situation in an interview with 550 KTRS radio (hat tip to Luis Nolla of KTRS for the partial transcript). “I think there is something cooking with St. Louis,” Molina said, estimating “a 90 percent chance that it happens.” After retiring following the 2022 season, Molina revealed that he had offers for some kind of coaching roles from both the Cardinals last year and from the Marlins.
In terms of his coaching future in general, Molina said “I see myself managing, coaching in the United States for a few years. I like it. I am a guy that is fascinated with baseball, and I am passionate about it. To have an opportunity like that I cannot pass….St. Louis has given me the opportunity. It is my second home. There is always a good relationship and communication with them. They are trying to guide me to that way, in the matter of being a coach. They have their staff who have a good job with the team. It would be an opportunity that it will be hard to say no to. I love St. Louis.”
More from the NL Central…
- In other Cardinals news, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch covered a wide slate of questions related to the Cards in his recent chat with readers, including the possibility of Jordan Hicks and Phil Maton being free agents targets for the team this winter. The Cardinals traded Hicks to the Blue Jays at the deadline, but with Hicks headed back to the open market, “there will be a conversation about a reunion” in St. Louis, Goold writes. Maton could also be “a name to watch,” both due to his ability and perhaps due to some local ties, as Maton went to high school about 90 minutes away from St. Louis in Chatham, Illinois.
- Unsurprisingly, the Cubs will retain Dustin Kelly as their chief hitting coach next season, according to Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Chicago’s lineup made big improvements in 2023, Kelly’s first season on the staff, and his presence might help stop what has been a revolving door of Cubs hitting coaches over the last decade. Sharma/Mooney provide some insight into how Kelly and his three assistant coaches were able to provide more specialized instruction to hitters, keeping communication strong while trying to marry a batter’s personal style to a broader approach. “We come up with team principles that we want to execute. But they still have to go up there and have their at-bat and stick to their strengths,” Kelly said back in September.
- The Pirates are still planning to give Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis regular reps at catcher next season, though Davis barely saw any time behind the plate after making his MLB debut last season, instead playing mostly as a right fielder. With some lack of clarity of how the playing time will be split up, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opines that the Pirates should just keep Rodriguez at catcher and Davis in right field, as both players might benefit from a clear focus on one position. Rodriguez spent some time as a first baseman, second baseman, and outfielder in the minors, while Davis’ right field defense was shaky enough that he’ll likely need more offseason work to make himself a passable option at the position.
TheMan 3
Catching is one thing, improving their hitting while striking out less is another
As long as the Bucs employ Haines as their hitting coach neither of I mentioned will change
ArrogantAnalyst
Yea, why don’t they try striking out less? Are they stupid?
Larry Brown's crank
that IS some arrogance! I wish my team would adopt that logic!
I.M. Insane
Heck, the Red Sox are reportedly talking with Andrew Bailey about being the pitching coach. That makes a Yadi-as-coach scenario look brilliant.
SouthernBuc
Wow…. ground hog day posting at it’s best. Any thoughts on the actual topic – what to do with Endy and Hank?
Scott Kliesen
Listened to The Fort on a rather lengthy podcast recently in which he said Haines isn’t the problem. He said he’s one of the 5 smartest guys he’s ever met in the business.
He said they aren’t creating an environment for big league success.
FWIW
SupremeZeus
Redbird fans will have to do mental gymnastics to avoid criticizing Yadi the coach. I’m here for the crash and burn.
sfes
That man could probably take a dump on StL from the top of the arches while wiggling Yadi Jr and giving the finger to everyone who passed and still be a saint to Cards fans. He’s the man there.
BrianStrowman9
For awhile. Give it a few years of crappy performance on the field and they’ll call for his head.
It’s a great concept til it goes to isht.
Eighty Raw
Which McDonalds sign would he be atop?
Jesusinmyurethra
Might improve the look of St Louis city. And I’m sure a bunch of cardinals fans would be watching with open mouths.
Cardsfan21
You guys are weird AF
Champs64
Sfes, Your commentary is why they need to have a place for a thumbs down.
sfes
Oh right, I say one of your great players has immense love from the fans, albeit in a dirty joke, and the rest of the commenters talk crap about your city and fans and MINE is the one that ticks you off. I’ll get off your lawn, grandpa.
mlb1225
It will be interesting to see how Davis can handle catching at the Major League level. He really wasn’t known as a defensive backstop in college, but he certiantly has the arm. Will be fun watching them next season, bot Endy and Henry.
YourDreamGM
Doesn’t look he can. If he is so awful he can’t catch meaningless games in a meaningless season it will be some special coaching to make him good enough for a meaningful season.
mlb1225
He didn’t seem to do too bad at Triple-A and showed some improvement last season prior to his call-up.
Grumpofm
With Delay there, I think they played it safe and tried to teach him right field. Maybe if they trade Delay it’ll end that. I can only think of two examples right now, but it seems like first base is a better option for a catcher’s second position. Because it doesn’t seem right to draft a guy 1-1 as a catcher, have him catch through the minors, then bring him up and say play right field and be the emergency catcher.
Monkey’s Uncle
Derek Shelton seems to have an unhealthy obsession with moving guys all over the diamond instead of letting them settle in and establish themselves at one position.
puzzle
Why not put Endy or Davis at first and have the other catching. It fills in the holes.
YourDreamGM
Davis better make huge steps if he wants to catch. So far he can’t catch, can’t play outfield. What makes you think he can play 1b. One of the few players who doesn’t improve with reps. Looks just as bad at catcher as when drafted and just as bad in outfield today as his first time being put out there.
PiratesFan1981
@YDGM Reminds you of Nelson Cruz, don’t it? Horrible defensively and find their name in DH role.
SouthernBuc
What if robo umps were installed by 2025 (I have no real guesstimate)? IMO there is real value in making Hank a passable catcher (especially combined with Endy as a job share) as his bat makes that a plus position. Realistically in any scenario Endy is likely to do more actual catching, but if Hank can be the other half and can spend time at DH (Cutch likely gone by ’25) then you check some boxes on our contending lineup. I do think they need to settle on Hank’s plan B position, if that is outfield, then when he is not catching he needs to be shagging flies. If his bat explodes then making him more of a full time DH could be the plan, but IMO it is too soon too make that decision. Of course the other advantage to having 2 catchers is one could be used in a big trade for a starting pitcher (future statement if both fully pan out).
YourDreamGM
Most likely a challenge system so framing will be just as important. Still has to call games, block balls, throw out runners.
I guess I am the only one who seen his 2 mlb innings or whatever of catching. It looked like they lost all their catchers and there was some crazy nhl rule where a fan could be brought in to catch. I thought it was ok fans here you go. You seen him catch now can we put a end to everyone asking him to catch. But they kept saying he was going to catch and they let him do it again. Why not 5 10 or 15 more times? Guy isn’t a natural or fast learner that’s for sure. They say he is a hard worker. Didn’t improve at all at catcher or as outfielder. I hope somehow something clicks or something. Bat really needs to be something if he can’t play a position or 1b. I am not counting on him to be able to play 1b.
Mendoza Line 215
Endy needs to catch period.
If Davis cannot catch he needs to learn how to play right field.
That arm is too good to waste.
GO1962
If Yadier Molina returns to the Cardinals dugout as a coach, Oliver Marmol will have even more of an image problem than what he already has, because if the Cardinals have a winning record in 2024, most to all of the Cardinals fans will say it was because of the return of Yadi, and Marmol will get no credit. But if the Cardinals have a losing record in 2024, the fan base will demand Marmol to be fired and for Yadi to be named as Manager.
CardsFan57
You mean like the way they were better with Schumaker as bench coach.
rond-2
Why in the hell can’t the Pirates just rotate the 2 between catching and DH??
Robertowannabe
Andrew McCutchen, that’s why. As long as he is on he roster he will be the DH.
JoeBrady
Why in the hell can’t the Pirates just rotate the 2 between catching and DH??
=======================
Because you probably don’t want to make your #1/1 a DH in his first full season.. And having a C/DH combo is unusual.
ohyeadam
Some people aren’t made for defense. It’s not valuable to force them into a spot because of a draft position or their age. We twins fans had the same problem with Sano at 3B. If a player is a bad defender no matter where you try them you gain value by moving them to DH even if they’re young
YourDreamGM
Davis has to learn how to catch first.
wifflemeister
Why in the world does Mozeliak not just go ahead and fire Marmol now and not draw out this painful drama.?
Just another example of Cardinal bad GM decisions.
He needs to be fired as well
Robrock30
We all watched Molina for 19 seasons, folks, we know what he’s not going to put up with, how he takes charge and that he won’t back down. Seriously, five months into retirement he managed team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and took them to the Quarterfinals. Add that to being a 10-time all-star, a two-time World Series champion, a two-time National League Champion, nine Gold Glove Awards and four Platinum Glove Awards — what more could you ask for in a manager?
He was the catcher of my fantasy baseball team and I didn’t need a backup as he played nearly every game.
Robertowannabe
Some of the best managers never played much in the Show and never won awards for playing. Guys that are stars tend not to deal well with guys that need taught things as they never needed taught so therefore have an issue trying to teach what they can just do.
CardsFan57
Some of the best managers were also catchers. Molina was a coach on the field for a decade. He was a successful player because he did his homework studying thousands of hours of video on all the hitters in the league. That’s why he called great games and pitchers almost never shook him off on a pitch. He also positioned the defense most of his time behind the plate. No one knows the game better than Yadier Molina.
Robertowannabe
Yes, many were,. Not many great ones were HOF caliber as a player. Not a lot of HOF caliber players do well as a manager or pitching coach. Not saying he can’t but just because he was a HOF player does not guarantee he will be a great manager.
CardsFan57
You are arguing with yourself. No one has said Molina will be a good coach because he was a HOF player. We’re saying he’ll be a good coach based on personality and overall knowledge of the game.
CaseyAbell
Molina should have just saved some breath and said: “I want Marmol’s job.”
BaseballisLife
Molina was a coach on the field when he was playing. I think he will be a good one off the field.
BreezyB
There’s literally nothing here mentioning the Marlins. Why are they in the title???
JayRyder
Nice for Molina
Grumpofm
Molina was connected to possibly coaching there.
Big Smoke
Reading is hard
joew
Pirates catcher situation all depends if they figure out how to hit in the MLB. They don’t hit who cares lol. Endy probably the better option to start of the two
Grumpofm
They played more than half this year with a catcher that couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat.
joew
Endy was pretty bad too. Still was a nice offensive upgrade over hedges lol
Mendoza Line 215
I think that Endy will be a 270-280 hitter while catching well but his career hitting year will have been 2022.
Jason Hipkins
Get Pete Rose to come in and show the Pirates batter how to hit. I think it is a crime that Pete is not allowed to share his knowledge of hitting. He can volunteer to do it and the player can Zelle his cash directly when they start hitting better and striking out less.