ST. LOUIS – Yadier Molina, now three years into retirement after an illustrious career with the St. Louis Cardinals, hopes to return to Major League Baseball as a manager someday. He might even consider an opportunity with the Cardinals’ biggest rival if it came along.

Molina, a two-time World Series champion and nine-time Gold Glove winner, recently spoke in depth about his post-retirement life and future aspirations in baseball. In a report Monday from The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Molina was quoted saying, “If I have a chance to manage, I can manage anywhere. … I’d manage the Chicago Cubs, if they want.”

Molina expressed any future decision on managing would be made with his family in mind.

His recent comments may seem puzzling given that he previously discussed coaching opportunities with the Cardinals in 2023, accepted a role as a special assistant to President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak, and has since been absent from instructional opportunities with the team.

That said, his remarks likely reflect a broader desire to return to a high-level baseball role once he feels at peace with priorities at home.

Molina acknowledged the difficulty of stepping away from the Cardinals and Major League Baseball, though he says it comes down to making family his top priority after sacrifices they made during his 19-year MLB career.

“I would love to teach and coach the catchers in spring training. But right now my priority is to be with my family,” Molina said via The Athletic.

Molina’s post-retirement journey has largely revolved around supporting his son, Yanuell, who plays for competitive youth baseball programs in Puerto Rico. Molina has also had an opportunity to manage his native Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and 2024 Caribbean Series, his closest experience yet to the day-to-day grind of MLB management.

As for this year’s Cardinals, Molina found it “weird” that the team didn’t make many major moves in the offseason, though he expressed support for current manager Oli Marmol and the players.

“St. Louis has a really good coaching staff,” said Molina via The Athletic. “We have great talent on the field. We have some young guys that can really play this game. I’m going to support the young talent and see what happens. Baseball is crazy. You never know what will happen.”

The Cardinals, 8-9 so far in spring training, will open the 2025 regular season on March 27 at Busch Stadium against the Minnesota Twins.