There Is No Yadier Molina on the Horizon — And That May Be the Point

Cardinal Chronicle
There Is No Yadier Molina on the Horizon — And That May Be the Point
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals may have one of the deepest catching pipelines in baseball.

What they do not have is another Yadier Molina.

That is not a knock on Iván Herrera. It is not a dismissal of Pedro Pagés. It is not a slight against Jimmy Crooks, Leonardo Bernal or Rainiel Rodriguez. In fact, the Cardinals may be better positioned behind the plate than they have been at any point since Molina’s final years in St. Louis.

But there is a difference between having catchers and having the catcher.

For nearly two decades, Molina was more than a lineup card entry. He was the pitching staff’s security blanket, the manager’s extension on the field, the warning sign to every baserunner and the standard by which every Cardinals catcher since will be measured. That is a heavy shadow. It is also an unfair one.

The Cardinals are not simply waiting for the next Molina to appear. They appear to be building something entirely different.

Modern baseball has moved away from the old-school workhorse catcher. The days of one man catching 130-plus games, absorbing foul tips, blocking balls in the dirt, guiding a pitching staff and still being expected to produce offensively are largely gone. The physical toll is too great. The velocity is too high. The game planning is too detailed. The risk is too obvious. The background notes point directly to that shift, with the Cardinals’ current approach looking more like a catching committee than a search for one next franchise backstop.

That does not mean catching matters less.

It may matter more than ever.

It just means clubs are now trying to spread the burden.

In St. Louis, that has created a very different picture. Herrera brings the bat. Pagés brings the defensive stability. Yohel Pozo provides roster flexibility. Crooks and Bernal are pushing from Memphis. Rodriguez gives the system a high-upside name further down the ladder.

That is not the old model. That is not one man taking the job and holding it for a generation.

That is a catching department.

Herrera may be the best offensive catcher in the organization, but his greatest value may come from keeping his bat in the lineup while not asking him to carry the full defensive load every night. Pagés may not bring the same offensive profile, but he gives the Cardinals a steadier defensive presence and a trusted hand for the pitching staff. Crooks and Bernal give the front office options. Rodriguez gives them hope.

It is a good problem.

But it is still not Yadi.

Molina was rare because he combined durability, defense, arm strength, preparation, leadership and presence. He did not merely catch pitchers. He shaped them. He did not merely throw out runners. He discouraged them from trying. He did not merely play for the Cardinals. He became part of the club’s baseball identity.

That kind of player is not developed on schedule. He is not replaced by committee. He is not found simply because a farm system has depth.

He is discovered once in a generation, if a franchise is fortunate.

The Cardinals can still build a strong catching future without finding another Molina. In fact, that may be the most realistic path forward. A Herrera-Pagés-Crooks-Bernal-Rodriguez pipeline gives St. Louis choices. It gives the front office trade leverage. It gives the club protection against injury. It gives the manager matchup options.

What it does not give them is one unquestioned heir to the throne.

And maybe that is where Cardinals fans need to separate memory from expectation.

The standard Molina set should still matter. The Cardinals should still value defense, game-calling, toughness and leadership behind the plate. That is part of the franchise’s DNA. From Ted Simmons to Tony Peña to Tom Pagnozzi to Molina, St. Louis has always understood that catcher is not just another position.

But asking the next generation to become Molina is asking them to chase a ghost.

The better question is not whether the Cardinals have another Yadi coming.

They don’t.

The better question is whether they can take this unusual wave of catching depth and turn it into a championship-caliber advantage.

That might mean Herrera becoming a middle-of-the-order bat who catches part time. It might mean Pagés handling the tougher defensive assignments. It might mean Crooks or Bernal forcing the issue. It might mean one of them eventually being traded for pitching help. It might mean Rodriguez becoming the long-term upside play.

What it almost certainly will not mean is one catcher taking the ball 135 times a year and becoming the face of the franchise for the next 20 seasons.

Those days are probably gone.

Yadier Molina did not just leave a vacancy behind the plate.

He left a reminder of what greatness looks like when it wears shin guards.

The Cardinals may have answers coming.

But they do not have another Yadi.

And that is no insult to the next man up.

It is just the truth.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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