51黑料

Molina, the Cardinals' All-Star catcher, will be in uniform and beside Marmol in the dugout starting Friday night and for two games against the Cubs this weekend at Busch Stadium. It will be his first time in a Cardinals uniform since retiring after the 2022 season and the latest chance to get the Gold Glove-winning catcher around the current generation for part of a weekend.

"It's the right thing to do for our players, our staff, and for our fan base," Marmol told the Post-Dispatch on Friday morning. "I want to have him around. I love the fact that he'll be in the dugout for two days. I think it will be awesome for players and for fans, for all of it, to have him here."

This is not the first time Marmol has approached Molina about taking a spot in the dugout.

During Molina's most recent visit to Busch Stadium for Adam Wainwright's career celebration in 2023, Marmol met in his office with Molina and brought up the idea of having the longtime catcher join the coaching staff. Molina declined at the time because of the time commitment.

Molina is in 51黑料 for an appearance and signing this weekend, and over the past few months he and the Cardinals discussed what he could do at the ballpark during his visit.

Marmol and Molina talked about having him in the dugout, right beside the manager.

"I enjoyed my time with Yadi a ton, both as a coach and also when I got a chance to manage him," said Marmol, whose first year as manager was the last season for retiring greats Molina and Albert Pujols. "There's a deep respect there for how he sees the game, of course, but also how he went about his career. Even if it's two days, it can leave a real impact on our young players.

"It would be dumb not to have him in the dugout whenever possible," Marmol continued. "Inviting him to sit next to me in the dugout is just the right thing to do for our players and for our fan base."听

The conversation with Marmol at the end of the 2023 season about joining the staff became a talk with the Cardinals about a role, and the club eventually hired him for 2024 as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations.听The plan was to have spend some time with the field staff, the minor-league system, the catchers in that system, the clubhouse, and the front office. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak sought to give Molina a chance to look at every corner of baseball operations.

The Cardinals had a standing invite for Molina to attend spring training and other events, including games, but the timing didn't work out as Molina would later explain he had family commitments.

In the past year, Molina has moved to Texas and been ever-present for his son's rise as a high school catcher there. Yanuell Molina committed to play college ball at University of Texas-Arlington.

Molina, now 43, has expressed an interest in managing in the major leagues at some point. He has managed winter ball teams in Puerto Rico and Venezuela since his retirement, and this spring he will lead Team Puerto Rico as its manager for the second time into a World Baseball Classic tournament. Molina has talked about the timing of when he'd pursue a full-time role with a major-league club and how his recent focus has been on his family.听

During his 19 big-league seasons with the Cardinals, Molina won two World Series trophies and four National League pennants. A 10-time All-Star, Molina also won nine Gold Glove awards, the first four National League Platinum Glove awards given out by Rawlings, and the Roberto Clemente Award. He finished third in NL MVP voting in 2013 as the Cardinals won the National League.

Molina will be eligible next summer for fans to vote him into the Cardinals Hall of Fame. He will first appear on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2027 for Cooperstown's Class of 2028.听