Cards catcher Molina will play for Puerto Rico in world event

~ He could be one of five major league catchers on the team coached by Jose Oquendo.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Add yet another catcher to Puerto Rico's World Classic roster: Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Molina told a Puerto Rican newspaper that he's been invited to participate in next year's inaugural World Classic by manager Jose Oquendo, who's also the Cardinals third base coach.

"Oquendo spoke with me, and I agreed to join the Puerto Rican team," Molina said in Wednesday's edition of the newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

He said he was surprised by the invitation because the Puerto Rican roster was already expected to include four catchers: Detroit Tigers Ivan Rodriguez, New York Yankees Jorge Posada, and Molina's brothers, Javier and Bengie, who play for the Angels.

"I never thought that I would be invited because they have too many catchers," Molina said, adding, "He chose me, and I feel proud."

On Tuesday, major league outfielders Carlos Beltran, Alex Rios, Tony Valentin and Luis Matos signed on to play for Puerto Rico in the Classic, which will include 16 teams and will be played in the United States, Puerto Rico and Japan. It begins March 3.

"At this point, no one has said that they are not going to play," said Israel Roldan, president of the Amateur Baseball Federation of Puerto Rico. "Everyone we contact tells us yes."