Replacing Molina high priority on Cardinals’ to-do list. The options appear plentiful
The St. Louis Cardinals have had only three opening day catchers since the 2000 season, and one of those — Mike DiFelice in 2002 — was just a brief cameo. Yadier Molina has held the fort down every season since 2005, creating an entire generation of Cardinals fans who have known only consistency and stability behind home plate.
That is about to change.
Molina’s retirement leaves the backstop wide open, and for the first time since Tom Pagnozzi’s arrival as the starter in 1991. The Cardinals left the 2022 season content with Andrew Knizner’s work as a backup and hopeful that Iván Herrera’s continued development will carve out a place for him in the near future, but neither is a candidate to take the job full time in 2023. Instead, the Cardinals are going shopping.
“Having an elite defender, Hall of Fame catcher really for the last 20 years has been something that’s very special,” President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said at his end of season press conference. “As we look at what that market might look like, it’s going to be very difficult to say, oh, we’re replacing Yadi.
“There is definitely some offensive upside possibly in that, but we don’t want to take a huge step backwards defensively because we’ve built our club around defense.”
That defensive concern is likely to be the primary objection to a pursuit of former Cub Willson Contreras. Contreras told NBC Sports Chicago toward the end of the regular season that he’d already begun reaching out to teammates and friends for a report on the situation in St. Louis, and former Cub José Quintana confirmed to the News-Democrat that he’d provided a positive, encouraging report.
Quintana, though, seems likely to depart, pending seismic changes to the St. Louis pitching staff. Contreras, for his strength as an offensive catcher and even given his powerful throwing arm, is not considered a particularly deft pitch framer or handler of a staff.
At a much lower price point, long-time Red Sox catcher and recent Astros World Champion Christian Vázquez would represent a defense-first option. Only twice in his eight year career has he been a better than league average hitter as measured by OPS+, and his 23 home runs in 2019 mark the only time in his career he’s reached double digits.
Vázquez does, however, represent a viable short term option. He’ll play the majority of next season as a 32-year-old, making him a bridge candidate to a possible Herrera future. He’s also from Molina’s hometown and shares an agent with the retired legend.
Perhaps least important of all, Baseball Reference lists one of his nicknames as “Mini Yadi.” The Cardinals, without access to the full size version, may well be tempted by a reasonable facsimile.
Alejandro Kirk from Toronto
The trade market, however, appears to be a much likelier avenue through which a longer term solution will be available. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Wednesday the Toronto Blue Jays are “expected to trade a catcher this off-season,” and their available players would sync up well with the Cardinals’ needs.
Alejandro Kirk, recently turned 24 and an All-Star for the first time in 2022, stands as perhaps the most viable option to take over the position for a generation as others have done for the Redbirds. Kirk’s 126 OPS+ and preternatural ability to put the ball in play — he struck out only 58 times in 541 plate appearances — make him an offensive force.
His defense improved significantly in 2022 by most major metrics, though the concern about Kirk is likely to surround his ability to remain behind the plate long term. Indeed, he caught only 78 games while starting 49 times as a designated hitter, though the Cardinals could comfortably shift that proportion while still trusting Knizner for perhaps 60 starts.
Kirk primarily shared the position with Danny Jansen, who turns 28 early next season and slugged 15 homers in just 248 plate appearances. A superior defender to Kirk, Jansen taking over as the unquestioned starter in St. Louis would be a significant wager on a player who has never been in that role in his career, but may well flourish.
Oakland presents an option
Oakland’s Sean Murphy, who hit 17 and 18 homers in the last two seasons to pair with the 2021 Gold Glove behind the plate, “appears likely” to be traded, Ken Rosenthal reported for The Athletic on Wednesday. Murphy is perhaps the flashiest name on the trade market and most ready to handle the workload, having caught 112 games in 2021 and 116 games last season.
With Murphy would come certainty, and the trade price tag to match. Both Oakland and Toronto are likely to seek out significant hitting talent from the left side in any deal; for Murphy, that could mean a high-ceiling prospect such as Nolan Gorman as well as significant additional pieces. Toronto has been linked to Lars Nootbaar, whose production hasn’t quite matched the heights of his batted ball data but who nevertheless has carved out security as a definite Major Leaguer for a winning team.
Mozeliak has identified the catching situation as the Cardinals’ primary position of need this offseason, and is likely to pursue a solution even ahead of the Winter Meetings scheduled for the first week of December. Change will arrive swiftly, and when it does, there will be adjustments to the new look. In pursuing the right catcher, the Cardinals are confident they can minimize those seams.
