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Two St. Louis greats who played their final game in a Cardinals uniform together and will someday put on their Cardinals Hall of Fame red jackets together will soon return to the same field to manage against each other.

Aguilas Cibaenas, one of the winningest clubs in the history of Dominican Republic’s winter league, .

He immediately joins a league where the pressure to win is intense and where good friend and fellow aspiring major-league manager Albert Pujols is already leading a first-place club.

Hours after arriving in the Dominican, Molina led the Eagles to a 6-4 victory and end to the losing streak that prompted a change at manager. In his first remarks as Aguilas manager, Molina said, according to the team, that he was prepared to make changes and there would be "no excuses" as the team became "committed to improving our offense starting today."

Pujols, a first-time manager, has his Leones de Escogido team leading the league, LIDOM, with a 7-3 record, through this past weekend.

Molina’s Eagles are set to face Pujols and Escogido for the first time Nov. 5.

Both Molina and Pujols have expressed an interest in managing in the majors, and both have used winter ball leagues as an opportunity to explore the role and enter their names in the conversation.

“I think if the right time comes and it’s the right scenario, of course — what players doesn’t want to be a manager?” Pujols told the Post-Dispatch a year ago. “You know what I mean? For me, my time will come if it’s the right thing.”

Molina takes over a club that has won 22 championships and has lofty expectations every winter, but has struggled so far this season, losing seven of its first nine games. This past week the Eagles dropped back-to-back shutouts to Tigres de Licey, and that led to the swift shift at manager.

The club announced the hire on its Web site and social media, and Molina promptly shared an image of him in Aguilas’ signature yellow jersey on his Instagram feed. The club said that Molina will take over Monday for a rescheduled game. Molina brings with him several familiar names for his new staff. Cardinals bullpen catcher Kleininger Teran was named Molina’s third-base coach for Aguilas, and former Cardinals shortstop and World Series champion Rafael Furcal will be a coach on Molina’s staff.

Teran has been on Molina' previous winter ball staffs, too.

Since retiring after the 2022 season, Molina managed at multiple levels and leagues. He managed Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in 2023, and he has previously managed winter ball in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Earlier this year, Molina’s Criollos de Caguas won Puerto Rico’s winter league and represented the league in the annual Caribbean Series.

Almost a year ago, the Cardinals hired Molina as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations. Manager Oliver Marmol had originally approached Molina about joining his staff ahead of the 2024 season, but through conversations with the Cardinals, Marmol, and baseball operations leader John Mozeliak a flexible schedule and a less defined role was preferred. That role, however, did not develop as the club initially expected or advertised. Throughout the year, the Cardinals and Molina had discussions about when and where he could help, and multiple times, including spring training, Molina had a family concern or commitment surface that kept him from joining the club.

Earlier this month, Molina mentioned his family and maintaining a commitment to them when announcing via video his departure an an executive from the professional basketball team he's owned in Puerto Rico for several years.  

Throughout his playing career with the Cardinals, Pujols said at some point he wanted to return to the Dominican and play winter ball. He did between the 2021 and 2022 season, just before returning to the Cardinals on a one-year deal. Since retiring following hitting 700 home runs and helping hoist the Cardinals into the playoffs in 2022, Pujols has joined MLB Network as a recurring on-air analyst and he was hired by Major League Baseball as a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred. Among the things Pujols does for MLB is collaborating with the commissioner’s office on concerns and initiatives in the Dominican Republic.

As part of a 10-year personal services contract with the Los Angeles Angels, Pujols also continues to work with his former club in a variety of roles, including visiting instructor at spring training.

Pujols’ managerial debut got off to a strong start as Santo Domingo-based Escogido won its first six games with him in the dugout.

“We give the credit to the players, not me,” Pujols told . “(That) is a great start, but this is a long season. Hopefully, it stays that way all year, but I know there will be tough times, and we are prepared for that with the leadership we have in the clubhouse with the veterans and young guys.”

Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera is scheduled to play for Pujols’ club at some point this winter, and the Cardinals have outfitted him with a plan to improve his throwing.

Two-time All-Star Jean Segura is hitting .364 for Pujols’ Leones.

Molina’s new club features his former teammate Yairo Munoz on the roster as well as former Cubs infielder Starlin Castro. Munoz had two hits in the Eagles' victory Monday night to welcome Molina. Nick Wittgren and Junior Fernandez have also pitched so far this season for Aguilas.

Aguilas Cibaenas and Escogido have eight games remaining against each other, according to the schedule on Aguilas’ site. Molina’s club is set to host Pujols’ club on Nov. 5, and then Molina will visit his longtime pal Nov. 16 as part of a home-and-home series that weekend. The two teams also play Nov. 28, Dec. 1, Dec. 12-13, and Dec. 21.

This story was updated with results of Molina's first game at manager.