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Yadier Molina Intends To Play Beyond 2020 Season

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Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina is still going strong as he nears the end of his most recent contract extension. His representative informed the organization yesterday that Molina intends to play beyond the 2020 campaign, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

It’s not yet known just how long Molina intends to keep plying his trade; no doubt he’ll wait and see at some point. But it appears he’s convinced enough of continuing past 2020 that the sides will dedicate time next spring to working out a new contract. That’s now on the docket, per Goold.

Molina is earning $20MM annually under his present contract, which covered the 2018-20 seasons. It came as a bit of a surprise when Molina secured such a hefty rate of pay the last time around, though the prior pact came on the heels of a highly productive 2016 campaign. And it was plenty understandable that the St. Louis organization had little interest in allowing the potential future Hall of Famer to speak with other teams.

Molina has certainly not fallen apart at the seams since inking his current deal, but there is evidence that time is catching up. His offensive productivity is waning, as he has been a slightly below-average hitter (.268/.313/.426) over the past three seasons. While he’s still lauded for his exceptional overall work behind the plate and in game preparation, Molina’s framing has been average or below in recent campaigns as well.

None of that is to dispute Molina’s well-earned status as a high-quality backstop and incalculably valuable presence, even into his late thirties. But it is questionable whether the club will want to continue paying such a premium rate into the future, which could set the stage for interesting talks this spring.

Cardinals Place Jose Martinez On IL, Select Randy Arozarena, Activate Yadier Molina

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The Cardinals have placed outfielder Jose Martinez on the 10-day injured list with a right AC joint sprain, selected the contract of outfielder Randy Arozarena from Triple-A Memphis, activated catcher Yadier Molina from the IL and optioned backstop Andrew Knizner, Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets.

This has been a surprisingly underwhelming season for the 31-year-old Martinez, who has slashed just .266/.336/.401 (96 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 348 plate appearances. Martinez was far better over the previous two seasons, during which he hit .306/.369/.478 (129 wRC+) with 31 long balls across 897 PA.

The Cardinals will replace Martinez with Arozarena, a Cuba native who signed with the club for $1.25MM in 2016. Now 24 years old, Arozarena has hit a spectacular .368/.442/.562 (147 wRC+) with seven home runs and eight steals at the Triple-A level this season.

Not to be forgotten, Molina – one of the greatest Cardinals ever – is back after spending a month on the IL with a right thumb tendon strain. The 37-year-old’s thumb has bothered him since May, which is likely among the reasons he has batted a woeful .261/.286/.368 (70 wRC+) in 276 trips to the plate this season. Backup Matt Wieters has been a fine offensive substitute in Molina’s stead, though it has been a while since the former was an especially well-regarded defender.

Quick Hits: Domingo S., Rays, Molina, Red Sox, Jays

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Although Mariners outfielder Domingo Santana has come up as a potential target for the Rays, it doesn’t look as if the two teams will reach a deal for the slugger. Tampa Bay has “cooled on” Santana, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Divish cites the elbow problems that have bothered Santana over the past few weeks as a potential reason the Rays have backed off their pursuit. The 26-year-old has endured his worst month of the season, perhaps on account of his elbow, having batted .246/.310/.354 with 25 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances. July has marred Santana’s offensive numbers to an extent, though he has still slashed a solid .273/.342/.475 with 20 home runs in 446 plate appearances.

More from around the majors…

  • The hope was Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina would return at the beginning of August when he landed on the injured list July 11 with a right thumb tendon strain. We now know that won’t happen. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Monday that Molina was just cleared for “light baseball activities,” which still puts him around two weeks from rejoining the Cardinals, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Molina’s thumb has hampered him since May, which could at least partially explain his uncharacteristic .261/.286/.368 line in 276 plate appearances. Backup Matt Wieters has offered far better offensive production than Molina this season.
  • Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon has hired The MAS+ Agency for representation, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Leon, who’s earning $2.475MM this season, is slated to go through arbitration for the fourth and final time during the winter. Although Leon was the Red Sox’s best option behind the plate in 2016 – he slashed .310/.369/.476 with 2.3 fWAR in 283 plate appearances – he hasn’t come close to replicating that production since then. Dating back to 2017, Leon has hit .202/.263/.318 with 1.4 fWAR across 722 trips to the plate. The 30-year-old has largely done well behind the plate, including at framing pitches and throwing runners out, but his offensive decline has helped opened the door for Christian Vazquez to take over as Boston’s primary catcher over the past couple years.
  • Shortstop Freddy Galvis was a late scratch from the Blue Jays’ lineup Monday, which led to speculation they were on the verge of trading the 29-year-old. That didn’t prove to be the case, though, as Galvis sat on account of lower back tightness (via Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star). Fortunately for Toronto, it doesn’t appear this issue will prove severe enough to kill Galvis’ trade value – which could be happening with Blue Jays closer Ken Giles and his balky elbow. Manager Charlie Montoyo said that Galvis should return Tuesday, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. Any kind of injury is a rare occurrence for Galvis, who came into the season with back-to-back 162-game campaigns under his belt. Galvis has missed more time than usual this year, but he has still appeared in 102 games and hit a career-best .265/.299/.435 with 15 homers in 421 PA.

Cardinals Place Yadier Molina On 10-Day IL; Activate Matt Carpenter

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5:22pm: Molina will likely miss around three weeks and surgery won’t be required, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other media.

4:14pm: The Cardinals have announced (Twitter links) a series of roster moves in advance of their second-half opener on Friday.  Catcher Yadier Molina is heading to the 10-day injured list due to a right thumb tendon strain, with an IL placement retroactive to July 8.  Coming back from the IL is infielder Matt Carpenter, who has been out of action since June 29 with a lower back sprain.  The Cards also sent Rangel Ravelo and southpaw Tyler Webb to Triple-A and moved Jordan Hicks to the 60-day IL, while calling up catcher Andrew Knizner and selecting the contract of left-hander Chasen Shreve from Triple-A.

This is the second time this season that Molina has missed time due to his troublesome right thumb, as the same injury also put the longtime St. Louis backstop on the IL from May 31 to June 11.  It’s fair to assume that the nagging nature of Molina’s thumb problem is at least partially responsible for his lack of production this season, though Molina was also struggling prior to May 31.  Overall, Molina has only a .261/.286/.368 slash line and four homers over 276 plate appearances, making him one of several veteran Cardinals who are seemingly all having down years at the same time.

This list includes Carpenter, who has a career-worst .216/.325/.381 with 10 home runs over 326 PA.  While his IL stint was minimal, he and the Cards are surely hoping that this brief time off combined with the All-Star break is enough to finally get his bat moving close to the MVP-level production that Carpenter provided over the last three-plus months of the 2018 season.  Carpenter only had a .739 OPS over his first 234 PA last season before exploding for a .983 OPS over his final 443 PA.

Last season’s results notwithstanding, Carpenter’s cold streak this season has lasted longer and reached deeper depths than his slow start to 2018.  His power and hard-hit ball rates have both fallen significantly, while the quality of his contact has also dropped off (.324 xwOBA in 2019, as opposed to a .392 xwOBA in 2018).

Carpenter will resume his usual duties at third base, though the hot-hitting Tommy Edman retained his spot on the MLB roster after his strong performance as Carpenter’s fill-in.  Knizner and Matt Wieters will handle the catching duties while Molina is out.

Cardinals Place Yadier Molina On 10-Day IL, Promote Andrew Knizner

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The Cardinals announced today that catcher Yadier Molina is headed to the 10-day injured list with a thumb tendon strain. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Andrew Knizner.

It’s not clear as of yet how long Molina will be down. He’s only slashing .265/.294/.397 at the plate, but remains a highly graded pitch framer and unquestioned veteran leader. Going without Molina even for a short stretch could hurt the already scuffling Cards.

This move opens the door for increased action for Matt Wieters, who has turned in good offensive results thus far in limited opportunities. Backing up Molina generally doesn’t make for much playing time. Now, he’ll have at least a bit of a window to expand his case for a larger chance when he reenters the free agent market next year.

That’s not to say that the St. Louis club will just turn over the position to Wieters. This is also a nice chance for the club to give some looks to Knizner, who’s an increasingly interesting prospect and potential long-term replacement for Molina.

A former seventh-round pick out of N.C. State, Knizner has turned in consistently strong offensive numbers on his march through the Cardinals farm system. This year, he’s slashing a healthy .286/.355/.450 with five home runs in 155 plate appearances.

It seems likely the Cards will continue to lean on Molina and Wieters for the duration of the present season once the former is back in action. But Knizner could force his way into the club’s 2020 plans, perhaps serving as Molina’s understudy before taking over the primary backstop role as soon as 2021.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Moustakas, Cards, Molina, Bucs, Polanco

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Mike Moustakas “badly” wanted to re-sign with the Brewers, who granted his wish last month when they brought him back for a $10MM guarantee, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes (subscription required). It was the second consecutive drawn-out stay on the open market for the 30-year-old Moustakas, a career-long third baseman who will move to second base in 2019. It’s a surprising transition on the surface, but not for either the Brewers or Moustakas. Thanks to the presence of third baseman Travis Shaw, who shifted to second upon Moustakas’ arrival at last July’s trade deadline, the Brewers negotiated with the latter with the intention of trying him at second, per Rosenthal. Moustakas, for his part, informed agent Scott Boras early in the offseason he’d like to prepare for a change to second in order to make himself more attractive on the open market, Rosenthal explains. In the end, the increased versatility didn’t lead to a long-term deal for Moustakas, who reeled in his second straight single-year guarantee.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • Retirement is hardly imminent for 36-year-old Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who tells Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he’d like to play at least one more season with the team after his current contract runs out. Molina’s signed through 2020, which will be his 16th season and a year in which he’ll pass Bob Gibson to become the second-longest tenured player in the Cardinals’ storied history. However, while Molina wants to make it to at least Year 17, the potential Hall of Famer has no interest in overstaying his welcome in the majors. “I don’t want to retire when I hit .190 and I can’t throw anybody out at second,” said Molina, who batted .261 and caught 31 percent of would-be base stealers in 2018. When Molina finally does close out his playing career, don’t expect him to become the latest ex-catcher to become a big league manager, as he tells Hummel he’s uninterested in going down that road.
  • Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty, 23, was among the best young starters in baseball last season, when he recorded a 3.34 ERA/3.86 FIP with 10.85 K/9 and 3.52 BB/9 across 151 innings. As a pre-arbitration player, though, Flaherty won’t earn a salary commensurate with his 2018 production. The Cardinals renewed Flaherty for just over the $555K minimum – $562,100 – after they were unable to reach an agreement with him, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch reports. The club first offered Flaherty $572,100, but he wasn’t willing to accept that sum, per Goold, who writes that the team determines a pre-arb player’s worth with “essentially a weighted Wins Above Replacement that takes into account service time.” Flaherty racked up 2.6 WAR in 2018, while reliever Jordan Hicks – who also wasn’t able to agree to a 2019 salary with the Cardinals – totaled 0.3. Hicks, like Flaherty, will earn less this year than the team initially offered him, though it’s unclear exactly how much he’ll make, per Goold. While neither player harbors ill feelings against the Cardinals, Flaherty contends that “the system as a whole is not great.” It’s hard to argue with him, especially given that reigning AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell is also in line for a near-minimum salary this season.
  • Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco is making notable progress as he recovers from September shoulder surgery and could return by May, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Polanco’s able to hit without restrictions, and he has progressed to throwing from 120 feet on back-to-back days. The injury to Polanco forced the Pirates to find fallback options in free agency over the winter, when they signed Lonnie Chisenhall to a $2.75MM deal and added Melky Cabrera on a minor league pact.

Cardinals Notes: Fowler, Yadi, Roberts, Reyes

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Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler admitted to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this week that he felt “depressed” in 2018, the worst season of an otherwise solid career. Only three position players finished behind Fowler in fWAR (minus-1.2), whose offensive production fell off a cliff in the second season of a five-year, $82.5MM contract. Despite a nightmarish campaign which ended in early August on account of a fractured left foot, the soon-to-be 33-year-old Fowler still “truly loves” baseball and is gearing up for a rebound next season. It helps that Fowler still has the confidence of Cardinals president John Mozeliak and manager Mike Shildt, and he has grown particularly close to the former, Goold explains. On the other hand, Fowler suggested he lost the belief of former manager Mike Matheny, whom Shildt replaced in July. In an effort to bounce back to his previous levels, Fowler has enlisted the help of the legendary Barry Bonds this offseason for both workout and hitting advice, Goold details. On Bonds, Fowler said: “My whole mindset is if I’m going to learn from the best, I’m going to do everything that he says to do, and if I fail at it then I can always look back and say I did it. I did everything. I did everything and it’s not in the cards.” Goold’s full piece is worth checking out for more from Fowler.

Here’s more on the Redbirds, courtesy of Goold:

  • Cardinals stalwart Yadier Molina underwent surgery Thursday to remove a bone spur from his left knee, Goold relays. After a two-week recovery, Molina should be ready to resume his typical offseason workouts, general manager Michael Girsch informed Goold. A healthy version of the franchise catcher is all the more important to St. Louis after it parted with young backstop Carson Kelly to acquire first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
  • The commissioner’s office has suspended Cardinals pitching prospect Griffin Roberts 50 games after a second positive test for a drug of abuse, Goold reports. The 22-year-old Roberts, whom the Cardinals chose 43rd overall in last June’s draft, will serve his suspension at the start of next season. Now the Cardinals’ 10th-ranked prospect at MLB.com, the right-hander combined for 9 2/3 innings at the rookie and Double-A levels last season after the team drafted him.
  • The Cardinals aren’t yet sure whether they’ll deploy righty Alex Reyes as a starter or a reliever in 2019, per Goold. Reyes, one of the most promising young pitchers in the sport, saw injuries derail his previous two seasons. The 24-year-old missed all of 2017 because of Tommy John surgery, and after returning to throw just four major league innings last season, he suffered a torn tendon in his right lat and had to go back under the knife. Fortunately, St. Louis expects Reyes to be “close to full speed” when spring training rolls around, Goold writes. Then, based on how Reyes looks in camp (and how the club constructs its rotation and bullpen), the Cardinals will decide on his role and whether he’ll begin the year in the majors.

Cardinals Notes: Coaches, Clapp, Ankiel, Wainwright, Offseason

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The Cardinals will face some changes in the coaching ranks, as third base coach Jose Oquendo has informed the team he will not return in 2019, president of baseball ops John Mozeliak announced to reporters Tuesday (links via Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Mark Saxon of The Athletic). Oquendo, who was offered the opportunity to return, will work with the club in Spring Training but will spend the bulk of the season away from the game with his family.

In Oquendo’s absence, bench coach Ron Warner is moving to third base coach. First base coach Oliver Marmol is taking the reins at bench coach, while hitting coach George Greer will be a minor league hitting coordinator moving forward. That leaves the Cards with a vacancy both at hitting coach and first base coach, and Goold notes that Triple-A manager Stubby Clapp is expected to be offered one of those two positions if he is not hired away from the team. Clapp, who has been quite successful in his current role with the Cardinals’ Memphis affiliate, is also a rumored candidate for the Blue Jays’ managerial post (though he has denied hearing from the Jays to this point).

More out of St. Louis…

  • Goold notes that Mozeliak plans to speak with Rick Ankiel about the former left-hander/outfielder’s desire to make a comeback in 2019. Ankiel announced back in August that he was planning on pursuing a return to the Majors as a relief pitcher. He told Yahoo’s Tim Brown that month that he has “nothing to lose” and feels that he’s “in a better place” than he was when his career on the mound was derailed by the yips nearly two decades ago. While Ankiel would be nothing more than a roll of the dice, Mozeliak did express a desire to improve the left-handed pitching in the Cardinals’ relief corps. Zach Britton and Andrew Miller headline this year’s crop of free-agent lefty relievers, though there are ample names beyond that pair (to say nothing of countless options on the trade market).
  • Details of Adam Wainwright’s contract to return to the Cardinals won’t become clear for a few weeks, but Mozeliak indicated (via Saxon) the venerable right-hander was “willing to bet on himself,” adding that the risks associated with the contract are low. Obviously, that indicates that the contract will come with a fairly small base salary. It’s already been reported that Wainwright’s contract will have both rotation- and bullpen-based incentives, so the team may not yet even have a determination on what his role will be in 2019. Mozeliak did note that the rotation, which is loaded with depth options, is “probably not going to be our focus of energy.”
  • Rather, Saxon notes, supplementing the offense seems to be a greater focus. The preference, Mozeliak implied, would be a left-handed bat, though he added that he “[doesn’t] think it has to be.” The longstanding head of baseball ops for the Cards firmly indicated that the team hasn’t given up on Dexter Fowler being able to bounce back, though he also wouldn’t make any declarative statements about Fowler’s role in 2019. Mozeliak called the positions filled by Yadier Molina (catcher), Paul DeJong (shortstop), Marcell Ozuna (left field) and Harrison Bader (center field) all “pretty certain,” and indicated that Matt Carpenter would be in the lineup as well, most likely at first base. Beyond that, Mozeliak emphasized that he’s been a “big advocate” for Kolten Wong and hopes the defensive stalwart can continue to improve.
  • As Goold notes, third base and right field seemed the two most plausible areas for upgrade based on Mozeliak’s comments. That’ll lead to no shortage of speculation tying the Cards to top free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, though when asked about free agents, Mozeliak explained that he has “to be pragmatic and understand what that looks like” from a long-term vantage point.

Jedd Gyorko’s Future In St. Louis

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St. Louis Cardinals incumbent third baseman Jedd Gyorko’s power has diminished each of the last three seasons and it may be time to find a replacement, opines Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. It promises to be an important subject for the organization over the offseason.

Gyorko has provided valuable versatility for the Cards, seeing time at all four infield positions the last three years. His OBP has risen each year in St. Louis (.306 to .341 to .346), but his power output has gone the other way (.253 ISO to .200 to .154). On the whole, Gyorko’s proven a good gamble since his somewhat-surprising acquisition from the Padres in 2015 – and though he’s not known as a defensive stalwart, defensive metrics are less certain, crediting Gyorko with 24 DRS and 4.9 UZR at third base since 2016. Contractually, he’s guaranteed one more season at $13MM before a team option in 2020.

Finding a player that complements Gyorko’s skill set may be the judicious solution in the short term. The Cardinals front office is said to be “on the edge of giddy” about three third base prospects in their system who could be ready by 2020: Elehuris Montero, Nolan Gorman, and Malcom Nunez.

Gorman was listed as the Cardinals 6th ranked prospect by Baseball America, but the 20-year-old Montero will likely reach the big leagues before Gorman or Cuban-born Nunez, who is only seventeen years old. Montero tore through the Midwest League in 2018, hitting .322/.381/.529. After 24 games in High-A with the Palm Beach Cardinals, the 19-year-old could reach AA sooner rather than later. 

For next season, Gyorko’s role is not likely to change a whole lot – save for possibly in volume. Matt Carpenter started 74 games at third this year, but the Cardinals seem to prefer him on the right side. Top catching prospect Carson Kelly could be an option in short stints, as he played the position in 2013. He hit .269/.378/.395 in AAA and is ostensibly blocked behind the plate by Yadier Molina – but that feels more like a plan D than a plan A.

This year’s free agent class does provide a few palatable options. Bringing home World Series hero David Freese for a season would be a fun retro choice. Mike Moustakas’ name has been thrown out there as a potential stopgap solution as well. Then there are the big names – Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado. It’s unclear if the Cardinals are ready to commit the years and dollars to snag one of the elites, but regardless of the path they choose – they have options.

Check out the 2018-19 MLB Free Agent Tracker for a full list of upcoming free agents.

NL Notes: Kang, Kennedy, Giants, Wainwright

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The Pirates will be faced with a decision on Jung Ho Kang’s 2019 option this offseason, but GM Neal Huntington tells Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic that Kang’s performance in this weekend series won’t have an impact on the outcome (subscription required). “Truth be told, there’s not going to be a whole lot of value in the evaluation process of a one-game or a one-plus-game look,” said Huntington. Biertempfel notes, though, that the late promotion could earn a bit of good will with Kang’s camp in the event that the team elects to buy out his $5.5MM option and try to bring him back into the fold for a few million less than that. There’s been no indication one way or another as to how the Pirates plan on proceeding, though the very fact that he was brought up to the Majors at all indicates that they’re not totally closed off to the possibility of continuing the relationship in spite of Kang’s legal troubles over the past few seasons.

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Padres right-hander Brett Kennedy underwent knee surgery that will sideline him for the first six weeks of the offseason, tweets AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. However, Kennedy is still expected to be able to have a largely normal offseason program, and the operation isn’t expected to impact his availability for the 2019 campaign. Kennedy, 24, didn’t impress in six starts with the Friars this season, working to a 6.75 ERA in 26 2/3 innings. However, the 2015 11th-rounder fired off 89 1/3 innings of 2.72 ERA ball with 8.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 52.6 percent ground-ball rate in an extremely hitter-friendly setting with the Padres’ El Paso affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He posted solid numbers at Double-A in 2017 and at Class-A Advanced in 2016, and with multiple minor league options remaining beyond 2018, he’ll have ample opportunity to cement himself as part of the San Diego pitching staff in come capacity over the next few seasons.
  • The Giants’ search for a new general manager and/or president of baseball operations isn’t expected to be a quick one, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The process could take several weeks as Giants leadership interviews a wide range of candidates with varying backgrounds. Notably, Schulman adds that the Giants aren’t set on hiring any one specific type of executive (e.g. analytically inclined, traditional scouting background, etc.) and seem to be embarking on this process with an open-minded approach.
  • With the Cardinals on the brink of elimination, Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes the uncertain future of Adam Wainwright, who may have made his final start yesterday for the only MLB team he’s ever known. Wainwright’s a free agent at season’s end, and while he spent most of the season sidelined by elbow soreness, he’s rebounded in September to pitch admirably for St. Louis. His 4.84 ERA across his past four starts may not look pretty, but his 3.20 FIP and stunning 6.25 K/BB ratio points to a much more effective pitcher than the version of Wainwright the world had seen across the rest of the past three seasons. Teammate Yadier Molina, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem to think it’s the last time the two will be batterymates, saying he’s “confident” about that. “It may have been,” Wainwright himself said. “It doesn’t feel like it is. For whatever reason. I haven’t had those emotions. The way I’m feeling now, if that is my last start here it would be kind of hard to walk away knowing the way I’m feeling right now.”

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