Cardinals legend makes return to St. Louis official

The St. Louis Cardinals organization has been undergoing a revamp ever since Chaim Bloom took over as President of Baseball Operations. That new way of business has extended to the staff level, as Chaim Bloom announced on Wednesday that Cardinals legend Yadier Molina will be returning to the organization as a Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations.

Yadier Molina is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals as Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations.

After making a couple of cameos in the St. Louis dugout this past season, it appears that future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina is ready to get back to St. Louis on a more full-time basis. His weekend stays as a member of manager Oli Marmol's staff created plenty of buzz or controversy regarding the future employment status of Marmol as manager. It turned out, however, that Marmol personally invited Yadi to be in the dugout with the team, a move that a person fearing for their job probably would not make.

While Molina has some prior managerial experience as the man in charge of Puerto Rico's World Baseball Classic team, his overall commitment to a full-time coaching gig has been a talking point among fans. The former catcher was involved in hobbies other than baseball when he was wrapping up his playing career, as he was an owner of a Puerto Rican basketball team beginning in 2020. The mini controversy around Molina's investment came in 2022 when Molina was placed on a the restricted list for two games to attend to a "business matter" during the season. It turned out that Yadi was traveling back to Puerto Rico as his team was playing in the league championship, which they ended up winning for the second time since Molina took over the team.

Molina did end up selling the team in 2024 as he began his transition back to the diamond. Cardinals fans were concerned that the organization missed their opportunity to bring the legend back to the team for 162 games when Bloom announced that Marmol would return for another season, and it turns out that those reactions were premature. With Spring Training a month away and teams around the league all set in terms of their manager positions, Molina's opportunity to coach this season has passed, unless there are midseason terminations.

This new role, which comes with little to no clarity on his day-to-day responsibilities as these Special Assistant jobs tend to do, will allow Yadi the opportunity to stay close to the only franchise he has ever known as he works his way back into the baseball grind. Without the requirements of travel, on-field duties, and preparation for game days, the position could be a great way to ease him into the next step of his baseball career. With the prestige and honors that Molina received during his time as one of the game's best catchers of all time, he figures to be in the running for coaching gigs in the future. But for now, his return to the Cardinal uniform will be put on hold.