Yadier Molina's absence is showing once again for the Cardinals

For years, teams feared Yadier Molina. From 2005-2022, Molina's first and final years as the St. Louis Cardinals' starting catcher, the Cardinals allowed just 886 stolen bases, the fewest in baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks, the next-best team at limiting stolen bases, allowed 1,310 stolen bases. That's a gap of over 400 stolen bases in 18 years.

The Cardinals' 35.28% caught-stealing rate during that span was the best in baseball by almost 5%. Not only did Yadier Molina throw out runners, but his presence alone created a hesitancy in baserunners that no other catcher had.

The story has been vastly different these past two years. The Cardinals have primarily used Willson Contreras as their catcher, but Andrew Knizner, Ivan Herrera, and Pedro Pages have also received a decent amount of run behind the plate.

The Cardinals have allowed the 12th-most stolen bases since the start of 2023 (213 bases), and they've thrown out the 28th-most runners (43). This gives them a 16.8% caught-stealing rate, a precipitous drop from when Yadier Molina was the team's primary catcher. That figure is the fourth-worst in the league since the start of the 2023 season.

Caught stealing rates across the board are down these past two seasons -- the peak is now just 27.27% -- due to larger bags and a limitation on step-offs by the pitcher, but the point still stands. Without Yadier Molina behind the plate, the Cardinals simply don't boast a reliable defensive threat.

Yadier Molina's absence has been felt in multiple ways since his retirement. The team's defense behind the plate has clearly slipped. While Willson Contreras is clearly a more advanced hitter than Molina, Contreras doesn't boast the defense that Molina did. None of the club's replacement catchers have been able to even sniff Molina's success at throwing out runners.

Not only has Molina's physical absence on the field been felt, but his distance from the organization despite being hired by them this winter has also been noticeable. There have been zero reports on what Molina has been doing to help the team as a special assistant to John Mozeliak. Instead of being around the team, Molina has been working overseas as a manager to a variety of Caribbean teams.

In order for the Cardinals to return to the top of the league in catcher defense, Yadier Molina must be present with the team once again. His knowledge could provide benefits to the team's catching corps regardless of who receives the most reps behind the plate.