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Ranking the 10 best contracts in recent St. Louis Cardinals history
By Josh Jacobs
No. 2 Yadier Molina (2013-2018)
After finishing 4th in MVP voting in 2012, Yadi was handed a five-year, $75 million extension for his age 30-35 seasons. Handing out a contract that big to a catcher after the age of 29 is risky business, but the deal paid major dividends, and somehow was a massive underpay by the club.
In 2013 alone, Molina was worth $57.6 million. He finished the year slashing .319/.359/.477 with 12 home runs, 44 doubles, and 88 RBIs while collecting another Gold Glove and All-Star appearance, collecting his only Silver Slugger, and finishing 3rd in the MVP voting. Yadi’s production was a huge reason that the club was able to win the NL pennant before falling to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
Across the entire length of the deal, Molina slashed .286/.332/.421 with 69 home runs, 173 doubles, 393 RBIs while adding an additional four All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves. One could argue that he was worth even more across that stretch, as his leadership and ability to lead a pitching staff cannot be measured by WAR or any other advanced stat. There is a reason Molina will go down as one of the best players to ever wear a Cardinal uniform, and if this list was not measured by the dollar stat, he probably would have taken the number one spot.