Yadier Molina has been a driving force for the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career, but the star catcher's season is in jeopardy after suffering a thumb injury.
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Molina has Ligament Tear in Injured Thumb
Monday, Sept. 21
Bob Nightengale of USA Today shared news of Molina's injury, adding the catcher would be re-evaluated in a week to gauge whether he can return this season. However, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak is "cautiously optimistic" Molina will be back before the playoffs, via Nightengale.
Baseball writer Molly Knight weighed in on what Molina's absence would mean for the Cardinals if he is unable to return for the postseason:
With Molina out of commission, the Cardinals added Travis Tartamella to the roster to give them depth behind the plate, via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
According to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, Molina suffered the injury during the Cardinals' 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Injuries unfortunately seem to be following Molina now that he's on the wrong side of 30. He did appear in 136 games during the 2013 season, an exceptional amount for an everyday a catcher, but he missed 52 games last year.
This season is the healthiest Molina has been in two years, though his offensive numbers have taken a dip. His .660 OPS would be his worst since 2006, but the 33-year-old still ranks as one of the best defensive catchers by FanGraphs' metrics.
Molina left a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 24 after taking a foul tip off of his right knee protector. Those kinds of nicks and dings come with the territory for catchers, but the dynamic of St. Louis' roster is significantly altered in the absence of his backstop wizardry.
The Cardinals haven't missed a beat this season, despite a lot of injuries to key players. Adam Wainwright hasn't started a game since April 25; Jordan Walden is on the 60-day disabled list; Matt Adams missed three months; Matt Holliday and Jon Jay are going to play in fewer than 100 games; Randal Grichuk's stellar rookie season was interrupted by an elbow injury in August.
St. Louis' front office has done a masterful job of building a deep, talented roster to not only withstand all of those blows, but continue to thrive. Being without a starting catcher is different because defense and the handling of a pitching staff are so crucial to success.
Losing Molina for any length of time down the stretch, especially with Pittsburgh and Chicago coming on strong in the National League Central, leaves the Cardinals with a lot of questions heading into the final postseason push.
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