Why are the St. Louis Cardinals waiting to re-sign Molina and Wainwright?

The St. Louis Cardinals say they are waiting to see what happens before they make moves to fill out their roster, including deciding if they will make offers to Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina.

What exactly are they hoping to gleen?

Does John Mozeliak think the COVID-19 is going to clear up between now and then or that we’ll have any answers about how many fans will be in the stands and when they will allow to be there before roster decisions have to be made? I really don’t see that happening. And, honestly, I don’t see what those factors have to do at all with Wainwright or Molina and their contracts.

If games aren’t played, those players — and all the other ones — aren’t going to get paid. So what difference does it make if they’re signed or not, at least as far as it comes to payroll commitment as opposed to revenue streams? If anything, it would seem smart in my book to commit to older players on short term deals as opposed to signing guys who are 30 or so who might miss the best years of their contracts to games that are never played — and then you get him farther down the line when he’s older and less valuable on the field for full price.

In short, it doesn’t really seem like the Cardinals can go wrong by signing Wainwright and Molina to short-term deals. Judging from what the veteran hurler had to say earlier this week, it doesn’t appear the team has even breached the pair with anything resembling a firm offer. The club is letting the birds in hand get away while it ponders other alternatives that would be much more risky and, frankly, much less likely to happen.

Could you even imagine the Cardinals trying to keep their powder dry so they could make a run at a big-name player who could be a real difference maker in 2021 and beyond? Me neither. It seems like this is all just a bunch of playing around while the front office tries to think of an excuse not even to make the lowest commitment most no-brainer type moves for the upcoming season.

I mentioned just a few days ago that it seemed the market for these two franchise icons was coming back around back into the Redbirds’ laps. But will they even take advantage of the opportunity?

While the player personnel decisions have been questionable for the past five years or so, one thing that is beyond question is that this team is absolutely terrible at dealing with people as human beings.

The Cardinals have a nasty habit of not only neglecting to be straight forward with their players whose contracts expire. They often don’t even bother to tell a lot of players who would like to come back that they won’t be offering them a contract. I really hope that’s not what’s happening here. Wainwright and Molina aren’t just guys who are still effective players who have shown more than their fair share of loyalty to the franchise, they’re also extremely intelligent veterans who would make excellent coaches or front office leaders in the future.

I guess in this era, having a pedigree with a particular franchise that allows you to develop institutional knowledge isn’t what it once was. We see more and more leaders in big league baseball who earned their roles in a classroom instead of on a ball field someplace.But it wasn’t too long ago that this club was all about pushing the “Cardinals Way” as something special and unique about how players were raised and developed to higher standard than other teams. How is that supposed to happen when the guys who earned the hardware have all gone on to places where they were treated more as if they were wanted and appreciated?

It’s not just Wainwright and Molina, either. Jim Edmonds is universally known as one of the most keen baseball minds around the game today and youngsters could learn a lot from him. He wants to help young players so much, he has said, that he’s willing to do it for free. Yet the club laid him off from his position as a part-time instructor to save a few bucks during the pandemic. Why make such a permanent move? If I was the general manager of another franchise, I’d think this seems like a pretty great time to swoop in a guy who might otherwise never be available.

At some point, if St. Louis isn’t going to become a stronger player in attracting top free agents, it’s going to need to at least strengthen its game at locking up the players and coaches who actually want to be here. There is no doubt Wainwright and Molina want to be Cardinals for life. But will the team let them? Or will it let more talent walk out of the door because of shortsightedness?

I have a bad feeling I already know the answer to this question.

Scott Wuerz

Belleville News-Democrat

Scott Wuerz has written “Cheap Seats,” a St. Louis Cardinals fan blog for the Belleville News-Democrat, since 2007. He is a former BND reporter who covered breaking news and education.