St. Louis C Yadier Molina activated from disabled list

Jul 23, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) breaks his bat as he grounds out to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins (not pictured) during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

For the first time since July 30th, the St. Louis Cardinals had the benefit of seeing Yadier Molina in the starting lineup on Thursday afternoon.

Molina was activated from the 15-day disabled list before the Cards’ game with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and it was a welcome addition to the roster. He’ll be taking the place of backup catcher Tony Cruz, who was subsequently placed on the DL with a forearm issue to make room on the 25-man roster. Before he went down with a sprained right knee, Molina was considered to be a legitimate MVP candidate for the playoff-bound Cardinals, having posted a .330/.374/.479 slash line with 8 home runs in 98 games.

In addition to his scorching hot bat this season, Molina is one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball, and he is famously proficient at handling the young St. Louis pitching staff. On the season, St. Louis is just 12-13 with him out of the lineup, and in order to put their best product on the field, they desperately need a healthy, productive Molina behind the plate on most days.

Knee injuries are almost always troublesome for catchers, thanks to their increased workload on that area of the body, but it seems like Molina’s DL stint was semi-precautionary, and the hope is that he can finish the season (and the playoffs) in strong fashion for the Cardinals.

Welcome back, Yadier.

Home/MLB