Preferring to wait another day before he unveiled the NLDS roster for his St. Louis Cardinals, Manager Mike Matheny did offer an update on catcher Yadier Molina being ready for Friday’s opener.
“Much more optimistic today than I was say, when we were in Atlanta,” shared the manager before Wednesday’s team workout. “With what he was able to do yesterday and some of the things he’s been able to do with the medical team in stabilizing that thumb. He came in yesterday and had a good workout–all those things are pointing in the direction it’s possible.”
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Matheny compared Molina’s prior workout of hitting, catching, blocking, and throwing through to almost a Spring Training day. Molina is working with a splint while behind the plate, but took batting practice with his thumb only taped while swinging.
“The ones you catch clean aren’t an issue,” explained Matheny on the splint. “I understand that once that thing gets tweaked, there’s a weakness. It seems the strength has been able to come back. What the splint does is helps eliminate those missed caught balls–usually those aren’t necessarily an error on the catcher, as much as a foul tip, something you can’t control that takes it off course from where it would naturally go. The splint is going to hopefully eliminate any kind of balls that would normally move the thumb backwards and keep it from doing so.”
MORE DISTANCE FOR GRICHUK
–Outfielder Randal Grichuk has continued to gain arm strength, now comfortable throwing for a distance of 200+ yards.
“It feels good,” stated Grichuk. “I went out there earlier today and threw, I really kind of simulated more of getting behind the ball with ground balls and then fly balls. It felt good.”
It’s expected that Matt Holliday and Jason Heyward will man left and centerfield, with Grichuk seeing most of his action in right field.
“I would imagine there’s no throw that would worry me,” Grichuk added. “It’s progressed a lot better than I thought. They kind of explained to me how it might progress this year and where I might be at the end of the year. It’s feeling good.”
Grichuk threw a pair of sets from the 200 feet distance, with the second being not quite to the stage of letting it loose, but being able to “give it a good go”.
photo credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
