ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 31, 2019 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced prior to tonight’s game that they have placed catcher Yadier Molina on the 10-day Injured List with a right thumb tendon strain retroactive to May 29. Rookie catcher Andrew Knizner (KIZZ-ner) had his contract purchased from the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) and was added to the Cardinals active roster for tonight’s game against Chicago.
Molina, 36, a nine-time National League All-Star and Rawlings Gold Glove winner, was batting .265 with 4 home runs and 33 RBI through 50 games this season and had started 49-of-53 games through May 28. This will be the sixth time Molina has been placed on the Injured List over his 16-year Major League career, last appearing on the I.L. from May 6-June 4, 2018 causing him to miss 26 games.
Knizner, 24, the Cardinals seventh round selection (226th overall) in the June 2016, First-Year Player Draft out of North Carolina State University, has been the starting catcher in Memphis, appearing in 37 games while batting .286 with 5 home runs, 17 RBI and eight doubles.
He has a career batting average of .307 over 279 minor league games with 30 HR and 155 RBI. The right-handed hitting backstop has hit safely in 72 percent of his career games not going more than two games without a hit during the 2019 season.
Defensively, Knizner has thrown out 17-of-32 attempted base stealers (53.1%) this season, with his 17 runners caught stealing leading all Pacific Coast League and Triple-A catchers while ranking T-9th among all minor league catchers.
A member of the 2018 Pacific Coast League Championship Redbirds squad, Knizner was named an All-Star in the Midwest League (2017) and prestigious Arizona Fall League (2017). He was selected to the 2018 All-Star Futures Game for the USA Team in Washington D.C., last July.
Knizner will wear uniform No. 7.
-STL-