MLB and the Cardinals won’t be happy with Yadier Molina’s Instagram post

Yadier Molina, who tested positive himself, still doesn’t seem to be taking COVID-19 seriously

The St. Louis Cardinals are just getting back to normal. At 9-8, they currently sit in a playoff spot after spending more than two weeks on the sidelines following a COVID-19 outbreak. They seemed like they had put the ordeal past them. But then, early on Monday morning, catcher Yadier Molina posted a photo on social media that is sure to arise suspicions around the club and Major League Baseball.

Molina’s photo, posted on Instagram around 3 a.m. EST, shows him sitting on a black table in an orange John Elway Broncos jersey surrounded by a group of friends and his wife Wanda. No one in the photo is wearing a mask. They are certainly not six feet apart. The photo is accompanied by a caption with a shrugging emoji, followed by the words ‘f**k covid.”

https://twitter.com/Cubs_Live/status/1297891687340093443

It’s a blatant violation of MLB’s health and safety protocols that prohibit players from gathering in large groups, even when at home. “When at home, staff members and players are prohibited from visiting bars, lounges, malls, or other places in which larger groups of people gather,” the guidelines read. MLB has the right to ban a player if they ignore those rules.

What is Yadier Molina thinking right now?

The Cardinals, as well as the Miami Marlins, are the club most sensitive to what COVID-19 can do. They had 17 people in their organization, including 10 players, test positive, shutting down the team for 17 days. Molina was one of them. Even when the Cardinals returned to play on Aug. 15, Molina missed the first eight games.

The club could learn from a lesson from the swift action the Cleveland Indians took for a similar disregard for safety. After pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger left the team hotel in Chicago to gather with friends on Aug. 8, the Indians sent them home before optioning them to their alternate site. Neither has pitched in the two weeks since, despite being two of their top-of-the-rotation starters.

A similar fate is likely awaiting Molina. The Cardinals should keep him away from the club for at least a few days because of a phrase that’s becoming increasingly popular in MLB press releases, “an abundance of caution.”

The Cardinals are 7-5 since returning to play on Aug. 15. In four games since his return to the lineup, Molina is batting .412 with five RBI. He went 4-5 with two RBI in the Cardinals 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.