It’s a relatively thin catching market in free agency this year, with JT Realmuto clearly at the top, then James McCann a very likely starter, and then … maybe a decent back-up or two.
The wild card in that mix is Yadi Molina, who is probably more of an elite back-up at this point in his career, or maybe a 50/50 guy. It depends quite a bit on how much you value what he does for pitchers/teammates in the clubhouse and throughout the game – stuff that’s harder to quantify – but I really don’t think Cubs fans, in particular, should discount that value after what we saw from David Ross back in his playing days.
There is already significant reported interest in the now 38-year-old backstop:
Future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina has received calls with interest from both the Yankees and Mets plus 3-4 other teams in addition to the #STLCards as I just said on @MLBNetwork St. Louis is the likely favorite but in free agency you never know. Seeks a 2-year deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 12, 2020
To be sure, I think it’s highly likely that teams like the Mets and Yankees – and others – have contacted Molina’s agent to feel him out. As a back-up or a 50/50 guy, he’s probably a decent upgrade for most teams, to say nothing of that extra value he could provide.
That said, I see a report like this, and I feel like it smacks of an effort from Molina’s camp to get the Cardinals to go to two years. It’s what Molina wants, and how he wants to wrap his career. Without question, he wants that to happen in St. Louis.
We know that the Cardinals are still engaging with Molina, and we also know that their budget this offseason is going to be tight. So, if you’re Molina, and you want two years from the Cardinals and as much money as you can possibly get, your path is to drum up a couple one-year offers from big market clubs, and then you go to the Cardinals and say, “Hey, I got one year at $X from a couple teams, but I really want to be with you. So I’ll sign right now with you for less than $X annually, but you gotta give me two years. Works for us both, right?”
Maybe I’m just stuck on the idea that it’s hard to imagine Molina actually going somewhere other than St. Louis, but I feel pretty comfortable guessing this is how it’s gonna play out. Molina got his first taste of real free agency, got courted by some clubs on one-year deals, and it was enough to force the Cardinals’ hand to step up.