The Cardinals have placed catcher Yadier Molina on the 10-day injured list as he deals with a strained tendon in his right thumb, the team announced Friday.
The nine-time All-Star suffered the injury in a game Sunday and tried to play through it, but had trouble swinging a bat. He has been sidelined the past two games. The move to the IL is retroactive to Wednesday.
It's a particularly bad time for the Cards to lose Molina, as they open a three-game home series against the first-place Cubs on Friday. And they travel to Wrigley Field for a three-game series next weekend. The Cardinals (27-28) opened the day 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs.
While the 36-year-old Molina (.690 OPS this season) isn't hitting the way he did a few years ago, the nine-time Gold Glove winner is still an invaluable asset behind the plate in calling a game.
Matt Wieters will handle the starting duties in Molina's absence, and the club called up Andrew Knizner from Triple-A Memphis to back up Wieters. The 24-year-old Knizner is the Cardinals' No. 2 overall prospect and one of the top catching prospects in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.