St. Louis Cardinals: Five things we’ve learned so far this spring

Mar 11, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) catches against the Atlanta Braves during the game at Roger Dean StadiumThe Cardinals defeated the Braves 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

5. Yadi is probably going to be out there on Opening Day

Well, for better or worse, it looks like Yadi is on course to be ready for Opening Day against the Pirates. I didn’t think we would see Yadi in any sort of game action until at least another week from now, but he’s already appeared in four games behind the dish for the Cards.

It makes me anxious to see him out there in these spring games, and I just hope that the medical staff is absolutely positive that he is good to go before clearing him to swing at pitches.

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Brayan Pena figures to be a formidable backup, but there is little to no chance that the club survives a 2-3 month DL stint that would result from Molina damaging that thumb again.

It just seems reckless to have him out there this spring, no matter how bad he wants to get himself ready for Opening Day. There’s just too much to lose with minimal gains to be had. Yes, it’s good that Yadi is able to familiarize himself with newcomers Seung-Hwan Oh and Mike Leake, but what else do you get out of this?

I know that Yadi wants to be out there helping the club, but he can’t do that on the DL. He wasn’t able to help his guys fight off elimination in the past two postseasons… Can we please make darn sure that he doesn’t rush back this year?

Of course, I don’t have any of the information that Matheny, Yadi or the medical staff have on this situation. For all I know, that thumb could be in great shape and I’d be freaking out about nothing.

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If that’s the case, and Yadi is out there on Opening Day and shines in April, I’ll be the first to admit that it was great to get Yadi back that quickly, with hindsight on my side.

I just can’t help but to think about how much of a high-risk, low-reward type of situation it is.

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