Cards legend Yadi returning to help mentor club's catchers

ST. LOUIS -- No. 4 -- a jersey synonymous throughout St. Louis, Missouri and Cardinals Nation with legendary catcher Yadier Molina -- is returning to the club’s staff after three seasons largely away from the organization.

Molina, 43, is returning to the organization as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, the club announced on Wednesday. Molina will work with the Cardinals' catchers and the backstops in their Minor League system and help shape the development curriculum for those players.

“We are happy to welcome Yadi back to the Cardinals organization,” said Bloom in a statement. “He is an elite competitor, a consistent winner, and one of the greatest ever at his position, and we look forward to many contributions during his visits with us in this new role, both in and out of uniform. Yadi will provide input on our catching program, will advise our staff on catching and game planning strategy, and will give me and our front office valuable perspective from his unique vantage point. Perhaps most important, he will help us nurture in our players the high standards, attention to detail, and championship mindset that are so critical to winning.”

Molina -- a two-time World Series champion, a 10-time National League All-Star and a nine-time Gold Glove Award winner in 19 seasons with the Cardinals -- will appear in uniform sporadically and will work at times behind the scenes. Molina, who aspires to become an MLB manager, is also expected to appear during some of St. Louis' Spring Training in Jupiter, Fla., as he is also managing Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Catching is a position of great depth in the Cardinals' organization. Iván Herrera, Pedro Pagés and Jimmy Crooks are at the Major League level, and Minor League Gold Glove Award-winner Leonardo Bernal (the club's No. 4 prospect and MLB's No. 92, per MLB Pipeline) and 19-year-old phenom Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 3 and No. 55) are in the club’s Minor League pipeline.

Molina, who retired alongside longtime teammate Albert Pujols in 2022, returned to the club twice last season as a guest coach under the invitation of manager Oliver Marmol. Previously, Molina had been back at Busch Stadium just once -- for Adam Wainwright’s retirement ceremony in '23 -- since ending his playing career in the '22 NL Wild Card Series.

Molina played his entire career with the Cardinals and holds the MLB record for games caught with one franchise (2,184). Wainwright and Molina hold MLB records for most wins (213) and starts (328) by a pitcher-catcher battery. Molina also holds the MLB record for the most consecutive starts by a catcher on Opening Day, recording 15 from 2005-19.

Molina won four Platinum Glove Awards and led MLB in caught-stealing percentage four times. He registered 2,168 hits, 176 homers and 1,022 RBIs.

While working as a guest coach for the Cardinals from Aug. 8-10 and Sept. 5-7, Molina spoke of wanting to pour back into the game that has meant so much to him. He also reiterated that with his son, Yanuell Molina, headed to the University of Texas at Arlington to play baseball, the time was right for him to return to MLB on a full-time basis.

“[Managing] is my plan and in my future, but right now I’m concentrating on my family, because they deserve that,” Molina said on Aug. 8 before a Cards-Cubs game. “But, yeah, in the future I’d like to coach. Step by step.

“The idea is to come here and help the catchers, give them advice and make them better. I just want to be here to help. I’m not coming here to try and make things different. I just want to help the young guys however I can. And I just want to enjoy the game. I don’t miss playing; I miss being at the field. But just being here, and being back in St. Louis, that means a lot to me. In this town, they care about me and care about my family.”