The St. Louis Cardinals activated catcher Yadier Molina from the 15-day disabled list Thursday morning, the team announced.
Cardinals activate Yadier Molina from the DL
The Cards’ all-star backstop is back in action after two weeks on the sidelines.
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More Cardinals: All Yadi's Eve
Molina, 31, has been on the disabled list since July 31 with a sprained right knee. There was some concern initially that Molina would miss significant time, but all his MRI results came back clean. The team’s doctors drained his injured right knee and gave him a cortisone shot, helping the backstop return to the lineup right at the 15-day minimum.
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Lots of players are clearing waivers with ease. Perhaps they should set the bar higher. Molina's return should be a huge boon to the Cards' lineup, and especially so for the final game of their series against the division-leading Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. The all-star catcher is batting a stellar .330/.374/.479 with eight home runs in 98 games on the year.
Molina went through a full workout -- i.e. running, batting practice, catching, blocking -- with no issues on Tuesday, so it’s unlikely that the Cardinals will have to ease him back into the swing of things. GM John Mozeliak said in a radio interview with CBS Sports 920 two weeks ago that he didn’t expect Molina’s injury to linger through the end of the year, but it’s probably too soon to say anything definitive given that it bothered him for a month before he hit the DL.
The Cardinals have also activated outfielder Shane Robinson (shoulder strain) from the DL. In order to make room on the roster for Molina and Robinson, St. Louis has placed catcher Tony Cruz on the 15-day DL (forearm stress fracture) and optioned infielder Jermaine Curtis back down to Triple-A.
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