The St. Louis Cardinals have locked up catcher Yadier Molina through 2017. There’s also a 2018 mutual option.
Yadier Molina Contract Extension With Cardinals Official
A previously unknown detail is that the contract includes a mutual option for 2018, worth $15 million. For those who might not know, a mutual option is an option that needs to be exercised by both the team and the player. Mutual options are seldom mutually exercised, but it has been known to happen.
Molina also gets a no-trade clause in his deal. A no-trade clause doesn’t mean Molina can’t be traded; it means the Cardinals would need Molina’s permission to trade him. Suffice to say, the Cardinals didn’t just sign Molina to a huge contract because they intend on dealing him later.
Read Article >Yadier Molina And Cardinals: Five Years, $75 Million Deal Done, According To Report
Wednesday morning, Jon Heyman tweets that it’s a done deal:
Read Article >Cameron: Yadier Molina Contract Not A Discount
At FanGraphs, Dave Cameron tackles the issue of how Molina might age, and whether this is a good deal:
Maybe that’s too negative an excerpt. Cameron isn’t way down on this deal - he just finds the timing to be curious, given the supposed cost. But an issue is nailing down how valuable Molina really is. Catchers still give analysts all kinds of trouble given how much of their game is difficult to measure, and Molina seems like he’s good at the things we have a hard time measuring.
Read Article >Yadier Molina Extension Reportedly Worth Around $75 Million For Five Years
Source: Molina five-year deal with #STLCards in $70M to $75M range.So $14 million per year, or something close to it. The risk is obvious -- most catchers age like peeled bananas, and Molina has logged over 1200 games in the squat between the majors and minors over his careers already, and he just turned 29.
But while most catchers are long-term risks, Molina has a long history of good health, and his brothers didn’t decline much in their 30s. If there’s one catcher on whom to risk a five-year deal, it might be Yadier Molina.
Read Article >Yadier Molina, Cardinals Very Close To Five-Year Contract Extension
Jupiter, FL. USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) laughs as he attempts to run down a pop up during workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE Ken Rosenthal:
Molina owns an 88 career OPS+, but he’s posted a 103 OPS+ the last three seasons. He’s durable, he makes a lot of contact, and he has an outstanding defensive reputation. Pitchers like him, and he’s gunned down four out of every nine potential base-stealers. He’s been a fantastic regular catcher for a while. The question is whether he can continue to be a fantastic regular catcher for several more seasons, and the Cardinals apparently think his odds are good enough.
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