ST. LOUIS -- Of all the accomplishments and accolades stockpiled over his 15-year career, Yadier Molinais most prideful about his durability. Even at age 35, Molina started 30 of the Cardinals' first 31 games this year, and at least 110 every season since 2005.That streak now appears to be in jeopardy. The Cardinals are expecting to be without their leader behind the plate for at least a month after Molina required emergency surgery Saturday night following a pelvic injury with traumatic hematoma. The operation came after Molina left Saturday's 8-6 win over the Cubs, the victim of a badly placed foul ball.
In the top of the ninth inning of St. Louis' 10-inning, walk-off win, the Cubs' Kris Bryant got a piece of a 101.5-mph fastball from flamethrowing Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks and redirected it between Molina's legs. Molina remained on the field for several minutes with the Cardinals' training staff before exiting the game, after which club officials scrambled to gauge the severity of the injury.As the club's top catching prospect, Carson Kelly was soon scratched from the starting lineup at Triple-A Memphis and summoned to St. Louis. The Cardinals activated Kelly prior to Sunday's series finale against Chicago, as well as right-hander Mike Mayers.Mayers joins the bullpen in place of Dominic Leone, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right upper arm nerve irritation. Leone exited after throwing two warmup pitches in Friday's series-opening win due to the issue, which was first described as a biceps cramp.Teammates spoke in worried whispers after Molina walked off the field, under his own power but in obvious pain, then speculated over his condition for much of Saturday night. They won Saturday despite also losing Tommy Pham (groin) and Bud Norris (triceps) to minor maladies, though neither are considered as serious as Molina's."One hundred and two [mph], fouled it off, just missed it and hit him straight," left fielder Marcell Ozunasaid. "That's bad."No catcher has started more games behind the plate since he debuted in 2004 than Molina, who recently passed Johnny Bench for 16th on the all-time games-caught list. He has not missed significant time due to injury since 2014, when torn ligaments in his thumb truncated his season by seven weeks. Molina also missed 26 games due to a fractured wrist in '07.He was hitting .272 with six home runs and 17 RBIs this year, though his trademark defensive skills were rated atypically down by some metrics. Kelly, whom the Cardinals hope can be the eventual successor to Molina in St. Louis, is the club's No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He is also the No. 44 overall prospect in baseball and the No. 2 overall catching prospect.Kelly, 23, made his Major League debut for the Cardinals with a 10-game stint in 2016, and he played 34 games for the big league club last season, although he struggled at the plate, hitting .174 in 75 plate appearances. Kelly was hitting .234 with a pair of home runs and 11 RBIs in 21 games at Triple-A this season.
Joe Trezza/MLB.com
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