Cardinals: Yadier Molina recruited Nolan Arenado to play for for Puerto Rico in WBC

The St. Louis Cardinals moved on from Nolan Arenado recently as they turned the page on their past era of Cardinals baseball, but Yadier Molina is ready to reunite with the future Hall of Famer during this year's World Baseball Classic.

During an appearance on Foul Territory where Arenado opened up about a range of topics, including the sudden downfall of the Cardinals and his rejection of the Houston Astros last offseason, Arenado was asked about his decision to play for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and shared that Yadier Molina had actually recruited him to do so.

Cardinals News: Yadier Molina recruited Nolan Arenado to play for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic

Arenado, as many fans know, played for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic twice already, but his family ties to Puerto Rico allow him to represent them in this spring's festivities. Molina, who recently signed on to be a special assistant to Chaim Bloom, is serving as Puerto Rico's manager this year.

Arenado raved about Molina's baseball mind and leadership throughout the interview, backing up the idea that Molina would make a great big league manager and talking about how advanced Molina's thinking is. No one should be surprised by that praise.

Molina is an ultra competitor, so it says a lot that he would recruit Arenado to join Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic this year. Arenado is coming off a few rough years in St. Louis, but he's hoping to bounce back in a big way in 2026, and this could be the start of that. Arenado made it clear that this would be his last opportunity to play in a World Baseball Classic, and he was looking forward to the opportunity to do so one more time after Team USA did not extend him an invitation this year.

Puerto Rico is going to be missing a key member of their team this time around, as Houston Astros infielder Carlos Correa is unable to play in the event due to a major risk regarding his insurance policy that could void the majority of his contract for 2026 if he experiences an injury, meaning Molina is likely going to lean even heavier on Arenado that he would have had to before.