St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina out of Sunday’s lineup

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has been scratched from the starting lineup for three consecutive days with pain in his lower back.

Put simply, this is probably a sign of things to come for the St. Louis Cardinals.  It is has been said time and time again that Yadier Molina‘s age will catch up with him.  Catchers age faster than normal players.  It is a tough position.  All the squatting will put a strain on the knees and back.

Especially for a player who consistently takes only 20-30 games off a year.  Factor that into a 14-year career and the 34-year old has taken a serious beating.  It is about time to look toward the future.

The number two prospect in the St. Louis Cardinal organization is catcher Carson Kelly.  And this season Kelly has been proving his worthiness to move up from triple-A.  He is one of the top performers in the farm system this year.

Kelly was placed at the triple-A level so he could get consistent at-bats and be groomed for when the time came to replace Molina.  Well, he is hitting over .300 and it is time to make a move.  I am not saying make Molina a backup, that would be insane.  But clearly, Yadi could use more days off.

The best way to handle this situation would be to bring up Kelly to St. Louis.  With a successful season in the making one level below, the best move would be to let Molina teach Kelly while they split time. This way Molina can get days off and Kelly can get experience at the Major League level.

Molina is still a very valuable asset to the St. Louis Cardinals.  With everything he has achieved in his career there is plenty he can do to help the growth of the future backstop.

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Last season was one of the best of Molina’s career, but that will most likely not happen again.  It is hard to be optimistic for the future of a 34-year-old catcher.  Even the best catchers have to fall victim to age eventually.

Look at Johnny Bench.  He followed a very similar path.  He had a .250 batting average in his 32-year-old season.  He then played in only fifty-six games the next year, hitting over .300.  Then he made it two more seasons where he would hit just over .250.  Then he retired.

And here is the thing, Molina has played more games since turning thirty per season than Bench did.  As I have said, a few times, that will take a toll on his body.  So it would only make sense to send down Eric Fryer, bring up Kelly, and let Molina be a veteran leader.  It is what will help the St. Louis Cardinals most this year, and for years to come.

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In all honesty if this continues Molina may end up on the DL and Kelly will be up anyway.  But he should stay up when Molina is healthy.  Carson Kelly is ready to progress as a player, but he needs to get at-bats against MLB pitching.  The way things are going now it will be the most beneficial move for the organization.