Cardinals GM: We're 'open for business' to discuss Molina extension

Yadier Molina is about to enter his 14th season with the St. Louis Cardinals. The catcher's by far the longest-tenured member of the club, and was behind the plate for the club's two most recent World Series championships.

And while both team and player would like to see Molina retire in a Cardinals uniform, the Puerto Rican can become a free agent for the first time at season's end if he chooses to decline his half of a mutual option for 2018.

There haven't been discussions about an extension between Molina and the Cardinals, but general manager John Mozeliak wants that to change. On Friday, he told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com that the team is "open for business" with the seven-time All-Star backstop, adding there's no end-of-spring deadline to get a deal done, so negotiations could feasibly begin or continue duri the regular season.

"We're not a deadline organization," Mozeliak said. "So as far as timing goes, I'm not drawing any lines in the sand."

Mozeliak's comments come one day after Molina's older brother, former big-league catcher Bengie, told MLB Network Radio that it was "a shame" talks hadn't been initiated by the club, and that Yadier is "not afraid" to leave St. Louis.

But even though both sides' preferred outcome seems to be making Yadier a career Cardinal, Mozeliak countered Bengie's remarks by noting that the front office must put those feelings aside when it comes to the business aspect of the game.

"It's like any other (negotiation)," Mozeliak said. "You try to do what's best for your organization. There's a short-term approach and a long-term approach. Yadi has meant a lot to this organization for a long time, and we want to make sure that whatever the outcome of this is, we definitely tried to do what is best for everyone."