For the first time in nearly a generation, the St. Louis Cardinals have their eyes set to the future rather than the present.

The Cardinals aren't expect to contend for a National League Central division title, much less an NL pennant, which is a stark contrast to the standards that have defined the franchise for most of this century.

Instead, St. Louis has committed to its rebuild and has garnered a lot of young, intriguing players brimming with potential in the last year.

With an eye to a future, the Cardinals are looking to the past to help guide the way.

St. Louis began full squad workouts Monday, and had two of the most iconic players helping out the players.

National Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith and future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina were present at the team's spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla., helping instruct various players.

According to an article from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Dispatch, Molina, who's in his first season as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, participated with the catchers in drills early in the day.

"I enjoy coaching, I enjoy teaching, so every time I get an opportunity to do it, I'll do it," Molina said in Goold's article. "I won't lie. It was good. It was different. I enjoy teaching. I will enjoy every day teaching."

Molina will be with the team until departing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic, where he'll manage Team Puerto Rico. At the conclusion of the tournament, he'll be heading back to St. Louis' camp and continue to assist catching coordinator Ethan Goforth for the remainder of big league camp.

Molina is also slated to be with the team in the dugout for two regular season series in uniform and will travel and visit St. Louis' minor league affiliates throughout the year.

Smith will spend the rest of the week working with the team's infielders, including defending 2025 Gold Glove-winner Masyn Winn, who became the youngest Gold Glover in franchise history.

"The advantage we have over a lot of other clubs is a rich history," Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said in Goold's article. "And then the willingness of those guys that made a name for themselves in St. Louis to come back and speak into the culture moving forward. And it's one thing Chaim and I have spent actually a lot of time this offseason on. ... Our hope is to have several guys that haven't been in camp in a while back in camp and start to normalize that as well."

An old saying in sports is that a winning team first develops winning habits, and there are seldom few players better than Molina and Smith to help the young St. Louis players build those habits.

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