Yadier Molina plans to retire when his contract expires after 2020
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is going to retire … after the 2020 season. The 35-year-old said he plans to play out his current contract with the Cardinals, and then walk off into the sunset, according to MLB.com.
The move may come as a shock initially, but only because Molina seems like the type of player who would be around forever. He’s become such an assumed part of baseball that it’s tough to imagine a Cardinals team without him.
He also hasn’t performed his age lately. Molina made the All-Star team in 2017, hitting .273/.312/.439, with 18 home runs, over 543 plate appearances. It certainly looks like he has a lot of baseball left in him.
It’s probably the right move, though. Molina is already 35, and plays one of the most physically taxing positions in baseball. Not only that, but he rarely takes a day off. If he can keep up that schedule for three more years, he’ll probably be OK walking away at 38.
While we can’t know exactly how Molina will perform over his final three years in baseball, he should leave behind one of the more contentious Hall of Fame cases once he calls it a career.
As it stands now, Molina is revered by many. His intangibles, stature within the game and contributions to the Cardinals make him an easy first ballot selection for some.
The stats tell a slightly different tale, though. Over 14 years in the majors, Molina has hit .284/.336/.403, with 126 home runs. His 98 OPS+ means he’s actually been two percent worse than the league average hitter over his career. That number doesn’t, however, account for his defense, which has been elite throughout his career.
By Jay Jaffe’s JAWS metric, Molina still has work to do as well. He’s compiled a 31.1 JAWS score over his career. The average Hall of Fame catcher sits at 43.9. Molina ranks 29th all-time in catcher WAR, behind both Russell Martin and Victor Martinez.
With a few more seasons, Molina should close that gap. And given all his other contributions, that could be enough to sway those who are hesitant about Molina right now.
In fact, given that he plays for the Cardinals, that should probably be expected. With a dash of Cardinals devil magic, you can probably expect Molina to win three straight MVPs during his final three years while leading the Cardinals to three consecutive World Series titles.
Maybe that sounds impossible, but we’ve learned not to doubt Cardinals devil magic by now … especially when the face of their franchise is involved.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
