JUPITER, Fla. _ After a raucous and joyous run with Team Puerto Rico through the World Baseball Classic, Yadier Molina returned to the Cardinals with his dyed-blond hair, a silver medal and perhaps something even more valuable to him in the week and season ahead.
He caught a youthful verve.
"I feel like a 20-year-old kid," Molina said after unpacking some of his gear Saturday morning. "To be a part of that team, to have Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, (Francisco) Lindor, T.J. Rivera, and Eddie Rosario _ those guys, they're young. They bring so much energy. When you're a part of that team, that was an amazing feeling. The energy they bring is contagious. It was good for me. That tournament was good for me."
Whether the next week is even more rewarding, personally, depends on conversations in the coming days between the Cardinals and Molina's agent.
One week from Opening Night against the Cubs at Busch Stadium, Molina said he hopes to have his contract addressed in the next seven days _ or talks cease and he likely becomes a free agent at season's end. Molina said he did not want negotiations on an extension to leak into the season, and general manager John Mozeliak said later Saturday that the club recognizes how "the clock is ticking." Mozeliak and Molina's agent, Melvin Roman, are expected to hold discussions in the next few days after having "preliminary" talks earlier this offseason.
Molina is entering the final guaranteed year of a five-year, $75 million extension signed in 2012, and while there is a mutual option for 2018, the Gold Glove-winning catcher is not likely to accept after a healthy season.
Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. told the Post-Dispatch that the team is "prepared to make a significant offer to keep him here. We'd love to have him stay."
Molina has echoed that wish repeatedly this past winter and this spring.
He added Saturday that the idea of free agency is intriguing.
"Oh yeah," Molina said. "I would love to. I would love to stay, but at the same time, I'm not afraid of free agency. I've still got many years in the tank. Believe me."
The World Baseball Classic showcased the bounce that Molina brings into this season, and it is a continuation of last summer. Molina, who turns 35 in July, led the majors in innings behind the plate, and he hit .365 in the second half with a .529 slugging percentage. People close to Molina said he was driven all winter by the fact that he was not an All-Star in 2016 and, for the first time since 2007, did not win the Rawlings Gold Glove award at catcher. Molina had a one-word explanation for the pep: "Health."
A repeat season, adorned with a Gold Glove, would assert his place with the elite catchers in the game. Since he signed his extension, Buster Posey, who won last year's Gold Glove, and Russell Martin have reached $20 million salaries. Molina made it clear Saturday he's aware of "too many catchers making more money."
Asked if the Cardinals would be willing to make Molina the highest-paid catcher in the game, DeWitt said: "He would certainly be one of the highest-paid catchers. Part of that is (annual average value), part of it is length. That all factors into what he ends up looking for and what makes sense for the club."
One consideration for the Cardinals is Carson Kelly, a top catching prospect who will start at Class AAA in 2017. The Cardinals have, in the past, preferred higher annual salaries in exchange for a shorter contract, and they have frontloaded contracts before. They could give Molina a raise in 2017, for example, as a way to increase the contract's value.
"We're pretty creative in structuring contracts," DeWitt said. "I do value iconic players and players who have started their career with the Cardinals and finished their career with the Cardinals. It's hard to accomplish in today's world. ... We value to a degree that makes sense in continuing to have successful teams. I've said to players over the years when they ask why we can't pay them more or what they can make elsewhere: 'One player cannot make a team.'"
The Cardinals have fallen short or declined to pursue other players they've called "iconic" during Molina's tenure with the Cardinals. Albert Pujols left via free agency, Jim Edmonds was traded and, most recently, Matt Holliday had his option for 2017 declined. He signed with the New York Yankees. Molina is unchallenged as the thread that holds the era together, spanning the National League pennant team of 2004 through the current team. No player in Cardinals history has more at-bats in the postseason than Molina's 315 or more hits than his 90.
What the Cardinals have long known, especially internally, Puerto Rico and the WBC audience saw throughout the international tournament. Molina captained Puerto Rico, serving as their catcher, their advance scout, their motivational speaker, their pitching coach, and even, for some English-speaking teammates, a translator. He also became a spokesman _ taking to social media to scold Major League Baseball and others for not having, he claimed, better security for the players' families and schooling victorious Team USA players on why Molina and the Puerto Rico players returned to their island for a silver-medal celebration and parade.
"Obviously I have more experience than the guys there on the team," Molina said. "It was important for them to hear that from me. The people in Puerto Rico, I'm going to be there for them. I do the same thing here. I speak out. I don't stay quiet. That's the way I am."
Molina made it clear, his agent will talk about the contract.
He just put a timer on how long he'll listen.
DeWitt and Mozeliak both said a week is enough time to strike a deal, though Mozeliak said it was too early for him to "weigh in on optimism." He and Roman have negotiated several extensions, including Molina's current deal and former Cardinal Jaime Garcia's. If the Cardinals didn't agree with Molina that he has several more years as a game-shaping catcher, Mozeliak said they wouldn't "be having these discussions." And they will be.
"Like I've said: I want to stay here," Molina said. "If they don't want to spend money, I understand that, too. This is a business. ... It would be cool (to stay). It would be awesome. For me. For my family. But that's not in my hands. You can say it is in my hands because I can probably play for $1 million per year _ yes, that is in my hands. But (the extension) is not in my hands. I would love to stay here. It would be special for me."
