Cardinals' Yadier Molina placed on 15-day DL with sprained right knee

Yadier Molina was placed on the 15-day DL Wednesday to deal with chronic knee pain. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) The St. Louis Cardinals have placed

Yadier Molina was placed on the 15-day DL Wednesday to deal with chronic knee pain. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

The St. Louis Cardinals have placed five-time All-Star catcher Yadier Molina on the 15-day disabled list, according to a tweet Wednesday afternoon from MLB.com Cardinals reporter Jennifer Langosch.

The news may not come as much of a surprise as the 31-year-old has been dealing with knee issues since June and news of his designation comes a day after he aggravated his knee during a 6-0 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. Molina said he's been trying to play through the pain but ultimately decided to sit out to focus on rehabbing the knee, according to Langosch:

"I tried to play through it, but it's getting worse. The smart thing is to take time off and try to fix it. I've been playing through that since June. Like anybody else, I am one of the guys who wants to be on the field playing. But right now, I need time."

The Cardinals, currently 62-43,  also placed center fielder Shane Robinson on the 15-day DL to give him time to rehab a right shoulder strain.

In the absence of both Molina and Robinson, the team has called up Adron Chambers and Brock Peterson from Triple-A Memphis. In the interim, Tony Cruz and Rob Johnson will split time behind the plate for Molina. The five-time Gold Glove winner, who won two World Series championships with the Cardinals, was scheduled to have an MRI in St. Louis on Wednesday morning.

Molina is in the midst of another stellar season with a .330 batting average, 54 RBI and a .854 OPS. Those numbers had taken a hit as he tried to play through the injury. In the past 28 days, Molina has batted just .222 with a .381 slugging percentage.

https://twitter.com/LangoschMLB/status/362636271211921408

SI Wire: Diamondbacks deal Ian Kennedy to Padres for Joe Thatcher, AA reliever and draft pick