Last season, the St. Louis Cardinals lost two viable veterans in Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, both of whom retired after they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card round.
Although Adam Wainwright is still around for one more year, the Cardinals still have a different look without two franchise icons.
Many fans have gone as far as to say that Molina was the glue that held the organization together for 19 years and that his departure is what has caused the team to stumble.
However, St. Louis sports radio host Brandon Kiley made sure to dispel any of those claims.
On Twitter, he correctly pointed out that Molina was injured for most of last season, yet the Cardinals still won 93 games.
Oh for the love of God, please stop blaming this on Yadi leaving. I played 78 games last year, man. This is so much bigger than Yadi’s absence from him.
—Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) June 25, 2023
In the second half of the 2022 season, the Cardinals were largely carried by a torrid stretch from Pujols.
Molina was out from mid-June to August and was limited to just 78 games in his final season.
As such, the Cardinals pitching staff was working with Andrew Knizner, Ivan Herrera, and Austin Romine for much of the season.
This season, they have a new face behind the dish in Willson Contreras.
Contreras was briefly pulled out of the starting catcher spot after the team began to struggle.
But Molina being gone isn’t the sole reason why the Cardinals have struggled so badly this season.
There are other issues plaguing the organization that have led them to this unfortunate stage and still have yet to be addressed or fixed.
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