St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina had emergency surgery to repair a traumatic hematoma Saturday night after a foul ball struck his groin area during that afternoon’s win against the visiting Chicago Cubs.
He is expected to be out at least a month, according to the team’s president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, and the Post-Dispatch reported Sunday morning that Molina had suffered a traumatic hematoma — or a pooling of blood outside a vessel. The injury occurred in the ninth inning. Kris Bryant caught part of a 102-mph fastball from Jordan Hicks, and it squarely struck Molina, who doubled over and was initially unable to walk.
“That was a bad one,” said Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny, a former catcher (via the Post-Dispatch). “And those ones don’t necessarily feel better tomorrow. That was hard to see.”
Cardinals left fielder Marcell Ozuna was more succinct: “One hundred and two [mph], fouled it off, [Molina] just missed it, and [it] hit him straight. That’s bad.”
Molina, 35, is hitting .272 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 30 games. The Cardinals’ top catching prospect, Carson Kelly, was scratched from the Class AAA team’s Saturday night game in Memphis, and he is expected to be activated in time for Sunday night’s game against the Cubs, with the Cardinals on the cusp of sweeping the series.
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