St. Louis Cardinals: Seven Predictions For the 2017 Season

The St. Louis Cardinals will sign Yadier Molina to a contract extension sometime between now and the end of the season.

By now, we all know the state of affairs: Yadier Molina is entering the final year of his 5-year contract he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2012 season. He’s been worth every penny of the $75 million contract, but will the team extend him or allow him to test the waters of free agency?

Complicating that decision is the presence of 22-year old catcher Carson Kelly, who is baseball’s top prospect at the position and the team’s second-ranked prospect overall. He made his major-league debut in September last season.

I wrote recently on why the Cardinals should extend Molina’s contract, but does that mean they will?

The answer is yes.

Why is Molina different from say, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Albert Pujols, or Matt Holliday, who all moved on to new teams after spending their prime years in St. Louis?

First, with the exception of Pujols, those guys all played for different teams before coming to the Cardinals. Molina was drafted by St. Louis in 2000 and has worn the Birds on the Bat in each of his thirteen major-league seasons.

Also, the fact that the organization has already gone public with its intentions regarding Molina’s future is different from the route they took with Holliday last year. We didn’t know the front office wasn’t planning on picking up Holliday’s option until late in last season.

Here in 2017, prior to the beginning of the regular season, the Cardinals have already made it common knowledge that they’re in talks with Molina and his agent.

While the organization values Kelly to the extent that he’s likely an untouchable in any trade talks that may arise during the season, triple-A is the perfect place for him to spend most, if not all, of 2016. I don’t expect him to get called up to St. Louis until September.

The only reason they may need him before then is if Molina goes down for an extended amount of time. If Molina’s big-league backup, Eric Fryer, lands on the disabled list, I wouldn’t be surprised if the organization kept Kelly in triple-A and called up Alberto Rosario to assume backup duties instead.

If the Cardinals are committed to singing Molina to a contract extension before he can reach free agency, they’ll probably want to get moving on that sooner rather than later. Molina is currently with Team Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic, so that may delay things momentarily. When Molina returns to Jupiter, the team will have about two weeks before Opening Day to negotiate terms for an extension.

If he doesn’t sign during Spring Training, it will be difficult to discern what exactly is the organization’s plan from there. It’s typically not a practice of General Manager John Mozeliak to discuss and finalize contracts during the regular season.

If Molina remains unsigned as the regular season begins, Cardinal Nation will be feeling an increasing sense of urgency as the year progresses. Management doesn’t want that. They’ll get it done before the end of the season.