CLEARWATER, Fla. (KMOX) - The St. Louis Cardinals captain is going to be suited up and playing catcher for his first game action of the spring this week. Yadier Molina has been taking it easy after having a couple of surgeries last year, but finally seems ready to get back behind the plate.
Manager Mike Shildt says Molina will catch Miles Mikolas in a squad game, Wednesday at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex while a majority of the squad will be in Tampa Bay for a spring training game against the New York Yankees.
Shildt spoke to media before Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Fla.
"We'll have a longer squad game where Miles Mikolas will be pitching back in Jupiter and then we'll evaluate it from there," Shildt says. "He's getting closer for sure."
The game likely won't involve Molina catching nine full innings, but does begin to give him some game-like reps behind the plate.
The expected Grapefruit League return date for Molina is March 14 (Thursday at Roger Dean vs the New York Mets). He had minor knee surgery in December and manager Mike Shildt had planned on Molina getting a few turns at DH this spring, before he returned behind the plate.
Related: Yadier Molina doing more mentoring, less catching to start spring
Last week after a catching a bullpen session with Adam Wainwright, Molina told Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch, "it didn't feel right." But it sounds like he's ready to give ti another go.
Molina won his ninth career Gold Glove in 2018, appearing in 123 games and missed a month of games due to a severe groin injury in May.
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