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Cardinals' Molina plans to retire when current contract expires

Jeff Curry / USA TODAY Sports

Yadier Molina is almost ready to call it a career.

The longtime St. Louis Cardinals catcher revealed Monday he's planning to hang up his cleats once his current contract expires in 2020.

"Three more years," Molina told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. "That's it.

"I can't wait to grab that (World Series) trophy in November or October. Three more championships."

Monday's announcement all but assures Molina, who turned 35 this past July, will be a Cardinal for life. He took the first step toward doing this back in March, when he agreed to a three-year, $60-million extension that takes effect on Opening Day of the 2018 season; had that deal not been reached, Molina would have been a free agent this offseason.

Molina joined the Cardinals in 2000 when the franchise drafted him in the fourth round, and he reached the majors only four years later. The native of Puerto Rico owns a career slash line of .284/.336/.403, but he's best known for his glovework and is regarded as one of the finest defensive catchers of his era.

Molina's 129 defensive runs saved are the most by any catcher since his debut, and his 41.19 percent caught-stealing rate tops all active catchers. His eight Gold Gloves are the third-most at his position in the award's history, trailing only Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez.

Over his 14-year run with the franchise, the Cardinals have appeared in the playoffs nine times, while winning four National League pennants and two World Series championships in that span.

Molina hit .273/.312/.439 (96 OPS+) with 18 homers and 82 RBIs over 136 games in 2017, while throwing out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers.

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