ST. LOUIS — After a long offseason wait, Cardinals fans got the news they had been waiting for. Yadier Molina is back.
Multiple outlets reported Monday night that Molina had agreed on a one-year deal to return to St. Louis. MLB Network's Jon Heyman had the news on Twitter.
Heyman reports the deal is for $9 million guaranteed.
Molina seemed to confirm his return to the Cardinals on Instagram, posting this video with a caption that read: "I'm back."
The Cardinals confirmed the news themselves Monday night, Tweeting: "We are excited to announce that we have agreed to terms with Yadier Molina on a new contract! We will have more details tomorrow on Yadi continuing his Cardinals legacy."
Molina, 38, just got done playing in the Caribbean Series for Puerto Rico, and was expected to sign after the series ended on Feb. 6.
Molina had originally said he would retire after his previous contract that expired at the end of the 2020 season. He then changed his tone, saying he'd come back if the Cardinals wanted him. And eventually he made it known he wanted to continue to play, even if it wasn't for the Cardinals.
2021 will be Molina's 18th season in a Cardinals uniform. He's won two World Series titles, nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, is a nine-time All-Star and won a silver slugger.
In 2020 Molina became just the 12th catcher in baseball history to record 2,000 career hits.
The Cardinals have had an interesting end to their offseason, after being mostly silent until the end of January. The Cardinals acquired Nolan Arenado from Colorado, resigned starter Adam Wainwright, traded outfielder Dexter Fowler to Anaheim and now have locked in Molina.
