The St. Louis Cardinals have already clinched a playoff berth, but will still look to fend off the Chicago Cubs (6.0 GB) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (4.0 GB) to win sole possession of the National League Central division. 

The Cardinals might have to take on that challenge without their best player and defender. Yadier Molina was diagnosed with a slight tear in his left thumb, as Chris Hrabe of CBS St. Louis reported.  

"I think this is sort of the best news we could hope for," general manager John Mozeliak said Monday.

Hrabe went on to say that Mozeliak will have Molina re-evaluated in five to seven days. The Cardinals are hopeful that Molina will still play in a St. Louis uniform during the playoffs.

The catcher, who torn his ligament in his right thumb last season, was injured while tagging Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs at the plate on Sunday. 

To help with the short term, but possible long term loss of Molina, the Cards have called up Travis Tartamella for insurance behind the plate. First baseman Xavier Scruggs was designated for assignment. 

The 27-year-old has hit .197/.251/.266 with 10 home runs and 97 RBI over 305 games played in a span of seven Minor League seasons. Tartamella will not receive much playing time at the big league level, but will be there just incase. 

Serving as the new starting catcher will be Tony Cruz, who is a huge downgrade from Molina. 

"It's always tough to fill someone's shoes, but Cruz has had opportunities in the past and last year he ended up being on the postseason roster because of what he showed," Mozeliak said.

Cruz, 29, has a .215 batting average over 247 games across a span of five seasons. In 2015, he is batting .173/.204/.221 with one home run and seven RBI over 57 games. His best season was his rookie campaign in 2011, which he hit .262 with six RBI over 36 games. 

Meanwhile, Molina has been an All-Star the past seven seasons and is hitting .270 with four home runs and 61 RBI in 2015. He has been noted for his excellent defense, which has won him a Gold Glove award the past seven seasons. He will most likely win another this season to make it eight years in a row. 

Molina, a 12-year veteran, has tons of experience with 5,576 plate appearances over 1,464 games played in the Major League's. He has a career slash line of .283/.336/.397 with 100 home runs and 645 RBI. Yadier is better than his 40-year-old brother, Jose Molina, who has hit just .233 over 947 career games played. Ironically, Jose is a catcher as well. 

The return of Molina comes down to how he fells and looks during practice and workouts. If he looks healthy, he will play. If not, then Molina will sit. 

"It'll really depend on how the next 5-7 days go," Mozeliak said.

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About the author
Evan Petzold
Evan Petzold is a Detroit-based journalist with expertise in covering the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings. A member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) and Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DBSA), he brings a unique skill set in reporting and broadcasting to the table.