Recently, rumors have been circulating about a St. Louis Cardinals legend potentially returning home.
At the end of the 2022 season, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols both retired from Major League Baseball after playing out their final season in St. Louis together. However, it appears that the Cardinals may be looking to bring back their legendary catcher.
According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, there is mutual interest between the Cardinals and Molina about a potential role on the coaching staff. Woo notes that it is unclear what that role might be, but that if he does join the staff, he'll likely take an everyday role.
Yadier Molina could return to Cardinals as coach, but one roadblock exists
However, there may be one roadblock, as was pointed out by fellow Cardinals legend Matt Holliday. Holliday noted that with Molina's basketball team and music label, there may be a few complications.
Still, Holliday believes that it makes sense for the Cardinals to bring back their legendary backstop in a coaching role.
"I would take as much Yadi if I was the Cardinals as I could get as far as the impact on the organization and the team," said Holliday. "Whatever role that looks like, whether it's an advisory role, a part-time coach, or shoot if he's willing to do a full-time (coaching role), you want that guy's mind around."
Backup catcher Andrew Knizner, who worked with Molina from 2019-22 also chimed in on the situation.
"When you look at Yadi, he's a guy that has seen about everything you can see in this game," said Knizner. "He's caught over, I don't know what it was, 2,000 games, countless innings. He's been a part of teams that have won World Series, so if you're looking for experience and a guy that has a lot of it, has been through the fire and kind of understands a player's perspective of the game, I think it can definitely be beneficial."
As Holliday mentioned, his basketball team and music label may pose a few challenges. However, having Molina back would certainly be a boost for the Cardinals in terms of morale and leadership. He could mentor Willson Contreras and also provide valuable insight to the team's pitchers.
