Fox Sports is reporting that Yadier Molina will sign a new contract with the St. Louis Cardinals by the end of the week that would make him the second highest paid catcher behind Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. The deal will be in the $70 million to $75 million range.
Molina always known for his defense had his best offensive season in 2011, batting .305 with 14 homers (a career high). An interesting stat pointed out by Fox–only six catchers have signed long-term deals with salaries that exceeded $10 million per season — Mauer, Mike Piazza, Jason Kendall, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Varitek.