As the injuries pile up for the St. Louis Cardinals, another problem popped up yesterday.
Yadier Molina, who has started hitting again and even made his pitching debut on Sunday, has been placed on the bereavement list.
Luckily, he isn’t going to be away for very long and could return as soon as Thursday, as noted by Katie Woo of The Athletic on Twitter.
But his reason for being on the bereavement list is a little unique.
Most of the time, when a player is placed on that list, it’s for something like a death in the family.
But Woo notes that this time, it’s about Molina’s son having injured his arm in a baseball game and requiring surgery.
Yadi On Bereavement List
You would normally think of the bereavement list as something teams would use for players who were dealing with a death in their family or something very serious.
Not that this isn’t a serious situation, as surgery on one’s arm is a major matter.
But it’s rare to see a player be put on the bereavement list for something such as this.
While Molina is out, the Cardinals have Ivan Herrera available as a replacement, with Andrew Knizner assuming everyday catcher duties in Molina’s absence.
Herrera is the No. 4 ranked prospect in the Cardinals’ minor league system, according to MLB pipeline.
Perhaps Herrera will get an opportunity with Molina out for a few days.
Again, Molina should be back soon, with Thursday being a target date.
But these are somewhat unique circumstances for a player to be placed on the bereavement list.
We’ll see if the Cardinals try to give Herrera some chances while Molina is away.
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