St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina has undergone surgery after being hit in the groin by a foul tip on Saturday and is expected to miss a month. The Louis Cardinals placed Molina on a 10-day disabled list on Sunday. The Cardinals’ intuition proved to be correct after Molina underwent the surgery that their leader behind the plate is expected to miss about four weeks for what the team called a ‘pelvic injury with a traumatic hematoma.’
The eight-time All-Star left Saturday’s 8-6-win game over the Chicago Cubs when Kris Bryant tipped a 102-mph fastball from reliever Jordan Hicks which hit Molina in the groin. After the hit, Molina fell to the ground immediately in pain and struggled to breathe for a few minutes. He was then attended by the Cardinal’s training staff before he left the game, after which the club officials tried to know about the severity of the injury. He was replaced by Francisco Pena who started behind the plate.
Molina’s teammates spoke about him in worried whispers once he left the field and speculated over his health for much of Saturday night. Bengie Molina, Yadier’s older brother and a former catcher in the majors said that the surgery lasted for about 45 minutes. He said that the doctors saved Molina’s testicles.
Bengie visited his younger brother after he was discharged from the hospital on Sunday morning and was encouraged by how better he looked.
This year, Molina was hitting .272 with six home runs and 17 RBIs. Carson Kelly on the active roster replaced him. Kelly was called up from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. John Mozeliak, St. Louis President said that the doctors had asked Molina to take rest for the entire next week before slowly starting to work and get back into shape.
