Cardinals' Yadier Molina Returns After Missing Weekend For 'Business Reasons'

St. Louis Cardinals veteran catcher Yadier Molina returns to lineup Monday night against the Chicago Cubs after taking Saturday and Sunday off. The Puerto Rican basketball team he owns, Vaqueros de Bayamón, won its league championship over the weekend.

Yadier Molina will be returning to the St. Louis Cardinals for Monday night's game in Chicago against the Cubs.

The veteran catcher was absent from the Cardinals’ Saturday and Sunday games after notifying the club that he would need to visit his native Puerto Rico for “business reasons,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold. The Cardinals placed Molina on the restricted list Saturday.

Molina’s sudden return to Puerto Rico came at the same time as the professional basketball team he owns was on the cusp of winning a league championship. Vaqueros de Bayamón entered Saturday with a 3-2 lead in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional finals, with a chance to clinch the championship Saturday. Molina’s club did indeed win on Saturday, claiming its second championship in three years.

It has yet to be confirmed if Molina was spotted in attendance for Vaqueros de Bayamón’s championship festivities over the weekend, but he was not present for either of the Cardinals’ games in Arizona during that time. Molina was not paid during his absence.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) reacts after missing a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Chase Field. (Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports)

Andrew Knizner, who has started the majority of the Cardinals’ games at catcher this season, started both games, while 22-year-old catcher Iván Herrera was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to fill Molina’s spot.

Molina’s decision to skip two games with just weeks remaining in the regular season will undoubtedly be questioned by fans and media alike. Despite his absence, the Cardinals still swept the Diamondbacks in Arizona and now have a five-game lead in the National League Central over the Milwaukee Brewers. Winners of seven straight, the Cardinals (69-51) seem to be peaking at the right time and are showing no signs of slowing down.

Molina announced last year that — like teammate Albert Pujols — he intends for this to be his last go-round in the big leagues.

“Yes, yes, it will be my final season,” Molina told reporters last August on a conference call. “I want to finish here in this great organization.”

Through 52 games, this season, the 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove award winner is slashing .222/.243/.527, all career lows for him.

The Cardinals open a five-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley on Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET.