Skip to content

Yadi: Padres, Angels join list of suitors with Yankees, Mets, Cardinals

Rob Leiter / Major League Baseball / Getty

Yadier Molina is open about his desire to stay with the St. Louis Cardinals, but at least four other suitors have shown interest in the veteran catcher.

In addition to the New York Mets and New York Yankees, which have been reported earlier, Molina opened up in an interview with Laura Bonnelly of Mas Que Pelota about the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels also looking into signing him.

"We want to stay in St. Louis," Molina said in the Spanish interview. "The decision's mutual. I have the motivation to stay. (Cardinals) as well. Yankees, Mets, Padres, Angels are also interested. I have lots of teams that want my service. In my decision, I'm not looking for too much money. I'm looking for another title. I'd like to have two more years playing baseball."

Molina, 38, appeared in 42 games in 2020, posting a .662 OPS with four homers.

The Padres are set to enter next season with Austin Nola and Francisco Mejia sharing catcher duties. While Nola - a midseason acquisition from the Seattle Mariners - has been productive, Mejia hasn't lived up to his top-prospect pedigree, hitting .077/.143/.179 over 17 games last year.

The Angels have Max Stassi and Anthony Bemboom on the roster, with Stassi posting a respectable .886 OPS with seven homers over 31 games.

The Yankees have Gary Sanchez and Kyle Higashioka behind the dish for 2021. Sanchez is coming off a miserable campaign while Higashioka has turned into ace Gerrit Cole's personal catcher.

The Mets are rumored to be in the market for a backstop, with Tomas Nido and Ali Sanchez the most likely players to fill the void left by Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos. The club has also reportedly been tied to free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox