ST. LOUIS — Like many Major League Baseball players across the nation, Yadier Molina is ready to get back to work.
The St. Louis Cardinals catcher took to Instagram Sunday to express that players and fans alike are eager to welcome back the 2020 baseball season.
"We Want To Play .. We are Ready,,,.. 'The Players are ready. The fans are ready. The country is ready. It’s time to #letthekidsplay,'" Molina wrote.
The Cardinals were supposed to play their season opener against the Cincinnati Reds on March 26, but the MLB 2020 season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For weeks, the MLB and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) have been negotiating over a plan to play a shortened season.
On June 4, MLBPS Executive Director Tony Clark issued a statement after the MLBPA board and more than 100 players held a conference call. In it, he said that the MLB told them it will shorten the season unless players agree to further salary cuts.
"This threat came in response to an Association proposal aimed at charting a path forward.... Rather than engage, the league replied it will shorten the season unless Players agree to further salary reductions," Clark said in the statement, which Molina shared to his Instagram last week.
"The overwhelming consensus of the board is that players are ready to report, ready to get back on the field, and they are willing to do so under unprecedented conditions that could affect the health and safety of not just themselves, but their families as well," Clark went on to say.
Molina's contract with the Cardinals is set to expire after the 2020 season. He has previously said that he's open to playing past 2020.
