Yadi back in Cardinals uniform for Cubs series. What does that mean for his future?
If there was not enough excitement bound to be contained in Busch Stadium this weekend with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting a rivalry matchup with the Chicago Cubs, a touch of throwback energy to the recent, storied past might well tip those feelings just over the edge.
Yadier Molina, the soon-to-be Hall of Fame catcher who spent his entire 19-year major league career with the Cardinals, will be in uniform as a coach on Friday and Saturday night at the invitation of manager Oli Marmol.
The appearance will be Molina’s first in uniform since his retirement in 2022, and just his second at Busch Stadium at all, following his return at the end of 2023 to celebrate Adam Wainwright’s retirement. Though he joined the organization that winter as a special assistant to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, Molina’s schedule did not clear as expected to allow him to act as an instructor at spring training and occasional guest throughout the year.
“I don’t miss playing,” Molina said, back on the field at Busch Stadium. “I miss being at the field. Just to be here, to be back in St. Louis, means a lot to me. Especially in this town, they care about me. They care about my family. It’s gonna be a great night for me, especially.
With a trip to St. Louis scheduled for an unrelated event, Marmol said that Molina reached out months prior to inquire about being around the clubhouse and field for pregame work. Marmol instead seized on the opportunity to have the franchise legend around in a more tangible sense.
Acknowledging the inevitable speculation that will be sparked by Molina’s appearance, Marmol insisted that having him around the team is the kind of opportunity he wasn’t willing to pass up, “for the players as well as our fans.”
He’ll be tasked with working through in-game situations with the manager, as well as offering instruction where it fits in.
“He has a unique way of expressing what it takes to really devote yourself to the game and what it takes to be that good,” Marmol said, “and in a way that I think could be pretty influential and impactful to some of our young guys. So he’s prepped and ready to go.”
Molina has been explicit about his desire to manage, and has received some on the job experience in heading up teams in both Venezuela and Puerto Rico in winter ball leagues.
He was also the manager for Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and is scheduled to hold that same job in 2026, though he hasn’t yet had any on-the-job big league coaching experience outside of his prodigious skill in doing so as a player during his career.
This weekend, then, acts as less an audition and more an opportunity, for him as well as the Cardinals.
“That’s my plan in the future,” Molina reaffirmed. “I’m concentrating on my family right now. They deserve that.”
Molina’s son, Yanuell, is a rising high school senior in Texas, where the family relocated in part to allow him to pursue his baseball career. Several times Friday, Yadier pegged the likely start of his coaching career to the end of Yanuell’s time in high school.
Marmol’s contract is set to expire following next season, which will be the franchise’s first under the stewardship of incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. As the team fights to the finish line in 2025 with a record which has settled around the .500 mark, the manager’s status will be under scrutiny as the winter opens.
Even with that backdrop, Marmol expressed confidence that the right thing to do for the organization as a whole was to invite Molina back to the ballpark with open arms, and in doing so, to utilize his skill set to its maximum ability.
For now, that means a limited role that will last only two nights, in the hopes that the parties can all learn from each other. The Cardinals have been extremely eager to have Molina’s presence around the organization, and this opportunity is one that could open up a lane for further participation moving forward.
On Friday and Saturday, that will be at the manager’s right hand. Where it lands in the future will be a decision for Bloom and his incoming group – as well as Molina, assuming he feels the time is right to involve himself to the extent the team has always hoped he would be willing to do so.
“As a player, you know how hard this game is,” he said. “There’s gonna be up and downs. You have to come over here and keep doing it. Keep pushing, keep grinding, and that’s what they’re doing, man. This game is hard.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 11:09 AM.