I don’t understand the knock on Knizner when looking at Yadi’s defensive decline over the past 4 years. Since 2016 Molina only has compiled a DRS of 6. That’s just over 1 DRS per season, and he was making $20M during three of those seasons. In addition, according to Fangraphs his pitch framing has fallen off a cliff in those 4 years. Then when looking at his offensive numbers, an 82 wRC+ (and an 87 wRC+ in 2019) isn’t going to cut for me and it shouldn’t for anyone. Ultimately where I look at is if Molina can at least get on base and he can’t even really do that with a OBP just slightly above .300. If you want your team to win, giving past-their-prime players contracts and leaving them as a starter doesn’t make sense. This team is being hamstrung by giving old players contracts and not being able to move from them (not the sole problem, but definitely one of them).
I’m not opposed to bringing Molina back but in no way shape or form should he be made the guaranteed starting catcher or given a hefty extension.