Cardinals Place Yadier Molina on 10-Day IL With Thumb Strain

The St. Louis Cardinals might be without their star catcher for awhile.

On Thursday, the Cardinals announced a series of roster moves, including the placement of Yadier Molina on the 10-day injured list with a right thumb tendon strain, retroactive to Monday. Yadi was battling discomfort in his thumb heading into the All-Star break, but clearly needed more time to heal.

Yadier Molina goes on the 10-day disabled list with a tendon strain, and keep in mind a strain is a tear. That's the same thumb injury he's been trying to play through. Shreve is back on the 40-man as Hicks goes to the 60-day DL. https://t.co/FbFXxIn44A
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) July 11, 2019

Molina's move to the injured list wasn't the only transaction to take place, as Chasen Shreve, Matt Carpenter and Andrew Knizner are all expected to join the team on Friday for a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Cardinals Place Yadier Molina On 10-Day IL; Activate Matt Carpenter https://t.co/FGzzL2C9jK
— Tim Dierkes (@mlbtrcardinals) July 11, 2019

While Yadi is on the mend, Matt Wieters is expected to take on a majority of the catching duties, with the Cards third-ranked prospect in Knizner called up as a second catcher. In 82 at-bats this year, Wieters has posted a lowly .220 batting average, with 14 runs batted in. On the other hand, Knizner has done well in Triple-A, hitting .277 with seven homers and 24 runs batted in through 53 games.

Get well soon, Yadi. St. Louis most certainly needs you healthy if they want any chance of making a playoff run in the crowded NL Central.