ST. LOUIS – More than a decade removed from their last World Series title, the St. Louis Cardinals have brought back three champions from the 2011 roster in three different roles.

Lance Lynn returns for at least one more season in the Cardinals starting rotation. Daniel Descalso returns as a bench coach. And Yadier Molina returns as a “Special Advisor to the President to Baseball Operations,” with an emphasis on front-office work.

“It’s going to be fun,” said Lynn. “It’s going to be a little different because I’m still playing and they’re not. It’ll be interesting to see how that dynamic is.”

Lynn and Descalso both won the World Series in their rookie season. Molina was about midway through an illustrious career to that point. Since 2011, the Cardinals have made the postseason seven of 11 times, but have only advanced to one additional Fall Classic and the National League Championship series four times.

Key comments from John Mozeliak at Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up

The experience of Lynn, Descalso and Molina could prove vital for a Cardinals team looking to bounce back from its first losing season since 2007.

Lynn and Descalso spoke Monday at Winter Warm-Up about their returns to St. Louis and the unique connections from the 2011 squad. Molina was not available this weekend, but many spoke with excitement about his return. Here’s what we know and what we’ve learned about all three.

Lance Lynn

Lance Lynn is the last active player from the Cardinals’ 2011 World Series roster. He spent parts of six seasons in St. Louis through 2017. Now 36 years old, he became a bit of a journeyman after that, pitching for five teams over parts of six seasons.

Lynn did not anticipate coming back to St. Louis until a surprise phone call with lead executive John Mozeliak.

“How’d you get my new number?” Lynn joked in the phone call. He says it was a positive conversation and encouraged him to think about St. Louis as a home once again.

“Whenever you have a chance to come back to a place where you were able to accomplish a lot of things, the ultimate goal of winning the World Series, it’s exciting,” said Lynn. “Hopefully, we have another good year and we make a run at the World Series. That’s the plan.”

Lynn does admit, however, the circumstances are a bit peculiar.

“Baseball’s a weird game. It’s got a weird sense of humor,” said Lynn. “I never thought I’d be back in St. Louis with Descalso as my bench coach and Oli as my manager, that’s for sure.”

Lynn won at least 11 games in every previous year he was a starting pitcher in St. Louis, including a career-high 18 in 2012. He enjoyed a strong run between the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox from 2019-2021 to the tune of a 3.26 ERA. He also set a career-high for innings pitched (208.1) and strikeouts (246) in 2019.

Last year, however, was arguably the roughest of his career. He led the majors in home runs allowed (44) and had a hard time regaining top form from previous years. Lynn says last year was a lot of “trial-and-error” and will serve as motivation for improvement.

“When you play long enough, you’re automatically a veteran, but learning how to lead in different ways and finding different ways to connect to everybody on the team, was something you had to learn,” said Lynn. “You go different places, meet new people, learn some things, [and] figure out how to incorporate it into who I am and how I bring that to a clubhouse and baseball team.”

Descalso described Lynn as a fierce competitor and someone who wants the ball in the toughest of circumstances.

“We have some adjustments to make with him, but his presence on the mound, his presence in the clubhouse, is going to be a huge positive for us,” said Descalso. “What he brings off the mound as well, I think he’s going to hold guys to a high standard. And that’s a good thing. I’m excited to share the dugout with him.”

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Daniel Descalso

Daniel Descalso debuted for the Cardinals late in the 2010 season, spent five years in St. Louis, and retired in 2019 after stints with three other teams.

He often battled for playing time in a bench or platoon role, but delivered some clutch hits during the Cardinals’ 2011 and 2012 October runs and also proved versatile defensively with opportunities at all four infield positions.

Descalso says he embraced a “win now” mindset throughout his MLB career and hopes that carries over into his new Cardinals coaching gig.

“On the teams I’ve played on that were the most successful, that either won the division, made playoffs, or whatever it was, it was a group of 25 or 26 guys who were all pulling in the same direction on a night-in, night-out basis, and all that mattered was winning,” said Descalso. “I’ve always said that if that was your mindset every night … At the end of the year, your numbers will probably be there. And if you have a talented roster, the wins and losses will be where you want it to be.”

Descalso had been working with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a baseball operations assistant, but coaching will allow him to work more closely with players. He says it’s an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, and his experience with Lynn, Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras as former teammates add to the excitement.

“As far as coaching former teammates, I think those guys that are on this team who I’ve played with, I think they know me well enough that I’ve earned their respect and trust,” said Descalso. “And they know what I’m about, and they know I have their best interests at heart. It’s not going to be about me, it’s going to be about them. I’m just here to help facilitate them in their career.”

Descalso will work with manager Oli Marmol to refine fundamentals with players and offer feedback on game strategy considerations. Descalso, Lynn and Marmol were all prospects in the Cardinals farm system around the same time, adding to his comfort.

Lynn described Desclaso as a guy who has “been through a lot in his career, from being a bench player and always being ready to go.”

Descalso looks forward to the opportunity to help the Cardinals bounce back from a challenging 2023 season.

“From the guys I’ve talked to, I think last year was a wake-up call and guys are going to be ready to go and not experience that again,” said Descalso.

Yadier Molina

Behind ten All-Star nods, nine Gold Gloves and two World Series championships as a player, Yadier Molina left his mark as one of the most accomplished Cardinals catchers in franchise history. Only one season removed from retirement, he’s back for even more.

Molina rejoins the Cardinals as a special advisor to executive John Mozeliak. He earned the new title last month, and Mozeliak finally offered some clarity as to what that could entail over the weekend.

“I plan to have a meeting when he’s done in Puerto Rico in terms of getting with him and letting him understand how we think about player acquisitions and how we value players,” said Mozeliak. “Really giving him an introduction to that side of the business. Anything he can do to help our younger catchers, we’ll certainly welcome.”

As the Cardinals’ lead backstop from 2004-2022, Molina was instrumental for pitchers’ development throughout his career and has expressed interest in a prominent coaching role long-term. He will have some opportunities to interact with pitchers and catchers, though maybe a little more scaled back compared to ones of Marmol and Descalso.

“I think he’s going to want to do that a lot,” said Mozeliak. “My guess is his comfort level is going to be more toward that side of things. We definitely know he wants to work on some of those things, and on the front office side that he wants exposure to.”

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Marmol says he has a strong relationship with Molina and feels his presence will help the ballclub.

“I had numerous conversations with Yadi at all times of the day over the last couple months, leading into him accepting the position to join us. At the end of the day, I wanted him around as much as possible.”

Willson Contreras, entering his second year as Molina’s heir, agrees.

“Anybody would like to have Yadier Molina on their team,” said Contreras. “That’s a guy you like to keep around, and that’s a guy you can come at and pick his brain. … Having Yadier Molina on my side, on every side of the team is going to be helpful.”

Lynn and Descalso, who shared a bond with Molina as 2011 World Series champions also had high praise.

“When you see the success, obviously Yadi is a hall-of-famer, so when you have that person around, it’s going to be huge for any clubhouse in whatever capacity that may be,” said Lynn.

“He’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve had the privilege to play with,” said Descalso. “Yadi set the example. You didn’t have to say anything. You just knew that guy was going to be out there every day if you let him, whether he was feeling good or banged up.”

“They can bring a lot to the table to help anybody on a roster, be ready to compete, and ready to help us win,” said Lynn on both Descalso and Molina.

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