Yadier Molina has been retrieved today and currently not acting for cardinals till…..View more

The worst-kept secret in baseball has finally been made official.

While it’s been out in the ether that the St. Louis Cardinals were set to welcome retired franchise catcher Yadier Molina back into the organization in an official capacity, the team and the former player spent several weeks circling the drain on a specific job description.

Wednesday, the Cardinals formally announced that Molina has joined the organization as a special advisor to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak

Mozeliak had expressed optimism earlier in the week at the MLB Winter Meetings that the two sides would come together on a reunion. The only question was the role.

Molina had recently said on a Spanish-language radio broadcast that he would not serve in a full-time coaching capacity for the Cardinals in 2024, citing family obligations as an impediment to the demanding schedule of such a role. Mozeliak echoed that expectation this week, noting that he expected to connect with Molina’s agent in Nashville to map out more specifically what Molina would do in his impending new role with the team.

Though it never seemed like the reunion was in any doubt, getting it finalized is a solid win for the Cardinals during what has otherwise been a relatively quiet Winter Meetings for the club.

Regardless of the full scope of Molina’s responsibilities, which Mozeliak will likely detail more thoroughly Wednesday afternoon when he meets with media in Nashville, the notion of Yadi’s presence back in Jupiter for spring training could rejuvenate a Cardinals team that stumbled in the absence of his fingerprints on the organization in 2023.