All of this time at home has given Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina a chance to rethink his stance on playing for the Cardinals and the Cardinals only or, as he once said, "I'll go home."
Talking with ESPN on Wednesday, Molina explained how the coronavirus pandemic and the indefinite stoppage of baseball has fortified his wish to play another two seasons _ and offered him the time to reflect on the possibility of being a free agent and signing elsewhere. As recently as this past March, as his agent and the Cardinals discussed the framework of an extension, Molina had said he would play for the Cardinals or retire.
"I previously said that, if it wasn't with St. Louis, that I would go home. If we were unable to come to an extension agreement, that I would retire. But the situation with this pandemic has changed everything. Right now, I'm thinking of playing two more years," Molina told ESPN baseball writer Marly Rivera. "Obviously, St. Louis is my first option. But if they don't sign me, then I'm willing to go into free agency. This situation has changed my mentality and all I want to do is play."
