Close your eyes, St. Louis Cardinals fans. Imagine two of the team’s legends, Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, returning to Busch Stadium and standing in the dugout together as manager and coach.
The visitors dugout.
On the “Cardinal Territory” podcast, Holliday raised the scenario that if the Padres hire Pujols, Molina could opt to tag along. Molina has said on social media that he is prepared to return to the daily grind of baseball, and Pujols would certainly be happy to take Molina on as a coach. Holliday believes the Padres would be a good fit for them, as the team possesses several Latino players, many of whom Pujols is close to.
For the Cardinals, Chaim Bloom is already stuck between a rock and a hard place in his infancy as the team’s president of baseball operations. The Cardinals are not expected to contend for a playoff berth in 2026, so if Bloom were to hire Pujols and Molina and the team struggles as expected, fans would direct their ire toward Bloom in asking why he hired first-year coaches to direct the team.
Pujols and Molina are likely going to be a package deal, and it’s hard to see Molina being willing to serve in a position under Oli Marmol. However, it would probably be a different conversation if he were to be the understudy to one of the greatest players of all time and his longtime teammate.
If the two go to the Padres or another team and find success, fans will be livid that the Cardinals didn’t scoop them up. The Padres are expected to contend for the postseason, so a strong season under Pujols and Molina would be a real possibility. Unlike the scenario where Pujols would manage the Los Angeles Angels and potentially be fired for the team’s likely poor performance, the Padres would have no reason to let Pujols or Molina walk if they play as expected.
Pujols and Molina will be eligible for the Cardinals Hall of Fame next season. Fans have been waiting for this occasion for years, but their inductions would certainly be less special if they were to belong to another team during the festivities.
It always seemed like a foregone conclusion that the two would find their way back to the Cardinals in some form after their careers concluded. That may still be the case eventually, but during what will be a painful rebuild process for the Cardinals, seeing those two manage an opposing club would be more agonizing than any loss on the field.
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