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St. Louis Cardinals: Five questions ahead of Spring Training

By Josh Brown

Mar 11, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk (15) signs autographs before a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Randal Grichuk (15) signs autographs before a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) looks on during NLDS workout day prior to game one of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) looks on during NLDS workout day prior to game one of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Will Yadier Molina be ready for Opening Day?

The question burns in the minds of Cardinals fans more than most of the others. The bad part about this is it’s a waiting game. We likely won’t see much of Yadier Molina at all in Spring Training games as he works to come back from two injuries on his torn left thumb ligament and building strength back in the thumb.

Today, there was good news on the Yadi front. Derrick Goold reported that Molina participated in informal workouts with his cast off and could be two weeks away from catching. Molina told Goold that he still hopes to be ready for Opening Day. Cardinals fans will be praying that is the case and Molina has no setbacks this spring.

It’s no secret that Yadi is the anchor for this Cardinals team. Molina is the glue that holds this pitching staff together, and he’s done so for the better part of eight years.

Molina has the hardware to prove that he’s one of the best catchers in the history of the game — see his 8-straight Gold Gloves. More than that, since 2010 Molina ranks first among all MLB catchers in DEF rating at 98.6 (the next closest is Russell Martin at 77). Molina also ranks second during that span with a 22.3 WAR.

The Cardinals without Molina is like fishing without any bait — it just won’t work. St. Louis needs a full season from its All-Star catcher.

Prediction:

My prediction? Molina won’t quite be ready for Opening Day. He tried to push the envelope last season in the playoffs and play through the injury, but that did not work out so well. As much as I know that Yadi will work his tail off to be ready to go for this team on Opening Day, I believe the Cardinals will exercise extreme caution and won’t let him get behind the plate until they are 100 percent sure he is ready.

This is a big reason why Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak went out and got former Cincinnati Reds catcher Brayan Pena. The 11-year veteran is a viable backup option (much more so than former Cardinals backup Tony Cruz), and that will take a lot of pressure off of Molina to rush back from his thumb injury. If Molina isn’t quite ready to go for Opening Day, I’d expect him to be back a week after that at the latest.

Next: Who Bats Lead-off?

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