Yadier Molina understands why fans wonder where he’s been.
Since being hired as a special assistant to St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak in December of 2023, Molina has yet to attend a team event. The 10-time All-Star missed all of spring training last year, and won’t be able to attend this year either. When Mozeliak hired Molina, the idea was that the nine-time Gold Glove winner would help mentor the young catchers in the Cardinals system and check in throughout the season as a guest instructor. He has yet to do so.
Molina’s absence has raised some concern within the fan base, with some doubting his commitment to his role and the only major-league organization he has ever known.
Molina, who was wildly popular as a player, understands the optics. But he hopes fans can understand his perspective too.
“I’ve been away from my family for many years,” said Molina, who retired in 2022 after a 19-year playing career, all with St. Louis. “I decided to take a break and put them as my priority right now.”
In a recent phone call with The Athletic, Molina detailed changes in his personal life. He and Wanda, his wife of nearly 18 years, sold their home in Puerto Rico a few months ago and moved to Austin, Texas, with their three children: Yanuell (Yanu, 16), Adrianna (14) and Daniel (8). The move centered around better high school baseball opportunities for Yanu, who is in the middle of his junior season at Lake Travis High School.
Yanu’s baseball season currently has all of Molina’s attention.
Molina is a regular at his games. He blocks out the latter part of his week, Thursday through Sunday, to ensure he doesn’t miss one. He sits in the stands, trying to be discreet and keep the attention on his son, while acknowledging that it isn’t really possible when his last name is involved. Yadier consistently records game film and highlights of Yanu (who, like his dad, is a catcher) and shares them to his Instagram page. The two talk strategies and execution after the game, much as Molina did with his pitchers.
For nearly two decades, Molina was a baseball player. Now, he’s a baseball father. It’s hard for him to say which one he enjoys more.
“I’m having a blast,” Molina said. “This is so much fun to be around Yanu 24/7.
“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think about the Cardinals, or the city, the team.”
Baseball — specifically the Cardinals — remains on Molina’s mind. Adjusting to life after his playing career was difficult, Molina said, perhaps more difficult than he realized at the time. Molina’s career included nine Gold Glove awards, four Platinum Gloves, and two World Series championships. Since then, he’s returned to Busch Stadium just once — when longtime batterymate Adam Wainwright retired at the end of the 2023 season.
But that has less to do with the club and more to do with Molina’s personal life.
Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols are at Busch Stadium to celebrate the career of Adam Wainwright. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/Wmip6p1UMT
— FanDuel Sports Network Midwest (@FanDuelSN_MW) October 1, 2023
“At first (retiring) was hard,” Molina said. “You didn’t know what to expect and you worry what people will say about you. You worry about that the first couple of years. But then you enjoy it. It takes time to get used to. I mean, for 20 years, you’re basically on the field and you’re working and spending more time with your teammates than your family.
“(My family) deserves for me to be at home,” he added. “They deserve that — 19 years, 20 years being away from home is not easy for Wanda.”
Still, the thought of St. Louis is always lingering. The Cardinals have extended an open invitation for Molina to drop in when he can, and he says his relationship with the front office remains on great terms.
Molina is hopeful about making a trip to Busch Stadium some time this year, though that will depend on his family schedule. Yanu is not committed to a college program but continues garnering attention as he enters his junior season. Molina wants to be part of Yanu’s prep baseball experience as much as possible. But he’s enjoying the daily dad responsibilities — like watching Adrianna’s volleyball practices or helping Daniel adjust to a new school — just as much.
“I would love to be there,” Molina said. “I would love to teach and coach the catchers in spring training. But right now my priority is to be with my family. … It’s hard for me to get time right now. But if I have time, why not?”
Yanuell Molina (@Yanu_Molina) hoses the runner trying to steal second base for the 1st out of the top of the 5th. #FiveToolDefense@LTCavBaseball (TX) 2026 #uncommitted
Profile: https://t.co/pqmn0SqCF3 pic.twitter.com/b0AWfLGhmT
— Five Tool South Texas (@FiveToolSTX) March 6, 2025
When the time is right, Molina intends to return to baseball in a more prominent role. “It’s my love,” he says with a laugh. And if he had a say in the matter, he knows exactly which role he’d choose.
Molina still desires to be a major-league manager one day. He has managed various winter ball teams, most recently this winter in the Dominican Republic, and was the manager for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, a position he is expected to hold again when the popular tournament returns in 2026. Managing winter ball is much more feasible for him, he explained, citing the length of the season (roughly two and a half months) and he won’t have to miss any of Yanu’s high school games. He also feels the experience has helped him better prepare to be a big-league skipper, should the occasion arise.
“I’m well-prepared right now,” Molina said. “I’ve been managing the last three years in different places, I learned a lot from different people. And I feel ready. I feel like I’m ready right now. When you spend most of your career with Tony (La Russa) and Dave Duncan and José Oquendo. … They help me understand the game better and see the game better.”
Balancing the yearning to manage with the need to be with his family has been difficult, Molina acknowledged.
“I have the passion right now for coaching and teaching,” he said. “I would love to have that experience and think I can have that soon, but like I said I’m concentrating on my family. That’s the hard part for me to make a decision about managing.”
What isn’t hard for Molina is knowing where he’d like to manage. He’d take any major-league job, though of course he’s partial to St. Louis.
“I’m loyal to the people that helped me out and supported me for many years,” he said. “I feel like I’m part of the city, even if I’m away from them right now.”
But?
“But this is baseball, right?” Molina continued. “If we decide as a family, if I have a chance to manage, I can manage anywhere. … I’d manage the Chicago Cubs, if they want.”
For now, Molina will root for the Cardinals from afar. The organization is in a far different place than when he left it, and he sees why fans are frustrated. But he’s quick to point out why he’ll support this year’s team, regardless of the club’s questionable transition.
“This is the first time this franchise didn’t really sign anybody in free agency, right?” Molina said. “When fans see something like that, it’s weird. It’s weird for us as fans right now. I don’t want to say they are not competing. That’s disrespectful to the players. But as a fan, that’s something we’re thinking about, how are we going to compete this year?
“The Cardinals have a great manager in Oli (Marmol),” he added. “There are some people there that really care and they love to teach. St. Louis has a really good coaching staff. We have great talent on the field. We have some young guys that can really play this game. I’m going to support the young talent and see what happens. Baseball is crazy, you never know what will happen.”
No matter what the future holds, Molina’s love and admiration for Cardinals baseball remains unchanged, even if he’s elsewhere. He hopes to return to a more active role with the club as soon as possible.
“I wish life was different for me to be there with the organization and in the city,” Molina said. “And I hope that comes soon because I really miss it.”
(Top photo of Yadier Molina: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
