The St. Louis Cardinals have activated Yadier Molina from the disabled list, and he was in the lineup this afternoon for the Cardinals extra-inning win in their NL Central matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Molina has been out of action since July 30th with soreness in his right knee.
The 31-year-old catcher is having a career year at the plate, he was hitting .330/.374/.479 with 30 doubles, eight home runs and 54 RBI in 98 games this season before his injury. He was also hitting .383 with runners in scoring position. However, Molina went 0 for 5 today.
Molina’s value to the St. Louis Cardinals goes far beyond his production at the plate. He is a key team leader in the club house, and one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. Molina possesses a rocket arm that discourages would be base stealers and picks off those runners who stray too far on the basepaths. He showed off that arm throwing out Starling Marte’s attempt to steal third base in the 1st inning today. Molina also shows masterful control of the Cardinals pitching staff from behind the plate and while this doesn’t show up directly in the boxscore, it does lead to wins.
The 2013 NL All-Star Game Starting Catcher is not just one of the best Catchers in baseball but should be a legitimate NL MVP candidate. The Cardinals are now 57-38 in games he starts and 12-13 when he doesn’t.
The Cardinals also need Molina back, as backup catcher Tony Cruz suffered a stress fracture in his forearm and has been placed on the DL.
The Cardinals now sit two games back of the Pirates in the race for the NL Central crown. They sit in the first wild-card spot, but are just 1 a game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in a division that features three of the best teams in baseball this year. The Reds face the Milwaukee Brewers later tonight.
In other Cardinals transactions, Outfielder Shane Robinson (shoulder strain) was also activated from the disabled list, while Infielder Jermaine Curtis was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to make room for Robinson on the active roster.
In minor league news, Cardinals uber-prospect Oscar Taveras will undergo ankle surgery and miss the remainder of the 2013 season.
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