The St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday named Yadier Molina special assistant to the president of baseball operations.
The team did not specify what duties the new role would include, but an MLB insider recently shared the news that the new role would not be a full-time position.
In a social media post, Enrique Rojas of ESPN and Spanish language website GrandesEnLosDeportes.com said the legendary Cardinals catcher will not take a full-time role with the team in the coming season due to “family matters.”
Rojas said Molina will take on a special advisor role with the team with scheduled visits during spring training and the regular season.
After a 19-year career with the Cardinals, Molina made just a few visits to St. Louis in 2023. He was on the stage for Adam Wainwright’s retirement celebration.
Another one of Molina’s former teammates, Daniel Descalso, will be joining the coaching staff for 2024. Earlier this month, the Cardinals announced the 2011 World Series Champion will serve as a bench coach during the 2024 season.
The Winter Meetings are coming to a close, and theย St. Louis Cardinals, like a majority of teams this week, didnโt make a trade or a free-agent signing.
Such is the nature of what is usuallyย Major League Baseballโs hottest week of the offseason. It has been a slow week at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, so slow that the largest free-agent contract dished out this week was Craig Kimbrelโs one-year, $12 million deal with theย Baltimore Orioles.
For Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, rushing into something solely to make a move at this time just didnโt make sense. Itโs expected the Cardinals will not make a move at this yearโs Winter Meetings.