St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina scratched with abdominal injury

Before yesterday’s game, Yadier Molina was a late scratch from the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup against the Milwaukee Brewers.

About fifteen minutes till game time, the St. Louis Cardinals announced star catcher, Yadier Molina, was a late scratch due to an abdominal injury. The team did not disclose what kind of abdominal injury it is, but it obviously was painful enough to keep Molina out of the game. Carson Kelly took Molina’s spot in the game as catcher.

The Cardinals did not release any other information on the injury. Until the more news comes out, though, it will be tough to know how exactly the injury happened. According to CBS RotoWire Staff, the injury bothered Molina throughout the pregame routine.

Molina is batting .308 with six home runs and twenty RBI since the All-Star break. A significant injury could be a huge loss for the St. Louis Cardinals down the stretch. I think of losing Molina to when the Kansas City Royals lost Salvador Perez not too long ago. If Molina is out for a prolonged time, then it is up to the rest of the team to pick up the slack.

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The St. Louis Cardinals will need a healthy Molina should they make it to the playoffs.

With games against the last-place San Francisco Giants and second-to-last San Diego Padres coming later this week and next week, the Cardinals could afford to put Molina on the 10-day DL. However, easier said than done.

We all know Molina is a workhorse and wants to play every day. My only hope is he realizes that losing him for the long run is worse than a couple of games here and there.

If there is a bright spot to this bit of news, it is the chance for Carson Kelly to get some regular game action. I know the “Carson Kelly needs more playing time” fans were happy to see him in the lineup last night. He did a fine job calling the game and hit the ball well. He went two for four, including a double, with two runs.

If Kelly can continue his play in Molina’s absence, should it be a long time, the St. Louis Cardinals will be in good shape. They will also need to make a move to give Kelly a back-up, but let’s not get to ahead of ourselves. Let’s just wait and see what the extent of the injury is before settling on a path.

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Hopefully, Molina’s injury isn’t too serious. As I said earlier, if Molina needs to miss a couple of days to get right, then do it. However, if he needs prolonged rest, then the St. Louis Cardinals cannot hesitate to put him on the DL.