Cardinals Rumors: Bengie Molina shares thoughts on Yadier’s free agency

The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to re-sign Yadier Molina, but his brother Bengie indicates he is drawing interest from other teams.

The biggest question surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals’ offseason is whether they will be able to retain long-time catcher Yadier Molina. While it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that he would return, talks have not gone well recently and there is suddenly some doubt that he will return.

Yadier Molina’s brother, Bengie, recently went on 101 ESPN “The Fast Lane” and said that the catcher wants to be “appreciated” and that he is enjoying the free agent process.

“They want to win, but they also want to be appreciated,” Bengie said. “He’s finding out how valuable – that’s a big, big word – how valuable he could be for another team. When you are talking about a 37 or 38-year-old and they have 6-7 teams after them, that tells you how valuable he is. The bad thing for the Cardinals is he is finding out how valuable he is to other teams.’

Molina, of course, is said to be looking for a two-year deal in free agency. But Molina wants to play with a team that can compete for championships, Bengie said, and indicated that his brother is willing to play elsewhere if he does not feel valued.

“If the Cardinals are not the team willing to do everything and anything to bring him back, he’s not afraid,” Bengie said. “Yadi is not like me. If you do not want me, somebody else will appreciate me.”

While his answers do not indicate that a deal is close, it is important to remember that this is how negotiations typically go. And with the market unlikely to heat up until January, the Cardinals and Molina will have plenty of time to find common ground. It’s just proving more difficult than either side imagined.

“It’s rough,” Bengie said. “He wants to stay here. He knows that they can do it. They can keep him in.”