Cardinals' Molina named to 9th All-Star Game as Posey's injury replacement
Yadier Molina is heading back to the Midsummer Classic.
The veteran St. Louis Cardinals catcher has been named to his ninth career All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced Monday. Molina was given the honor after San Francisco Giants backstop Buster Posey withdrew from this year's game earlier in the day, citing a hip injury.
Molina will join Miami's J.T. Realmuto as the two catchers on the Senior Circuit's bench. Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs won the fan vote at the position and will start behind the plate.
Meanwhile, Molina will also join starting pitcher Miles Mikolas as the two Cardinals on this year's NL roster. Infielder Matt Carpenter has a chance to become the team's third representative in Washington, D.C., if he wins the Final Vote.
It's the ninth time in 10 years that Molina will appear in the All-Star Game, as he only missed the event during the 2016 campaign. He's a career .625 hitter (5-for-8) with a homer and two runs scored in nine career All-Star plate appearances.
The 35-year-old has rebounded at the plate during the first half of 2018, hitting .278/.320/.495 (119 OPS+) with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs through 59 games. He's only five homers shy of matching his entire total from one year ago.