Yadier Molina Rumors
By Tim Dierkes [January 21, 2008 at 12:06pm CST]
The Cardinals signed catcher Yadier Molina to a four-year deal today. The 25 year-old defensive whiz hit .275/.340/.368 in '07. The specifics: the package is worth $15.5MM. The salaries are $1.75MM in '08, $3.25MM in '09, $4.25MM in '10, and $5.25MM in '11. The 2012 option is for $7MM. It's hard (at least for me) to place a dollar value on catcher defense. But we know Molina is very good, and there are signs he could even become a plus with the bat. This seems a decent signing by John Mozeliak
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By Tim Dierkes [January 8, 2008 at 9:47am CST]
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a new column up this morning regarding the Cardinals' arbitration-eligible players. This year they have Rick Ankiel, Yadier Molina, and Todd Wellemeyer. Goold spoke to Scott Boras regarding Ankiel's situation, which is definitely a unique one. Salaries for arb-eligible players are often determined by looking at comparables, but Ankiel doesn't really have any (Babe Ruth doesn't quite fit). Ankiel has four years of service time; he'll be a free agent after the 2009 season. Molina has three years of service time, so he's under team control through 2010. Goold says a multiyear..
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