There was some hope that Matt Holliday would be able to serve as a bench player this weekend against the Pirates, but Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last night that he will remain sidelined until after the All-Star break as he makes his way back from a Grade 2 strain of his right quad. Holliday was elected by the fans to start in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, but this means that he’ll have to sit it out.
Here’s Mozeliak’s explanation:“We always approach this in a realistic way. He’s an All-Star and we’d love to have him back in the lineup. But I don’t want to have him back for a day or two and then find out he’s going to be out for a longer period of time.
“I think it makes sense to take the All-Star break and pick up another extra week to let him heal and that’s what he needs.”
Holliday, who has been out since June 8, went through sprints and other running drills on Friday afternoon. He said that he felt “pretty good,” but apparently not good enough to be activated. The hope now is that he’ll be ready to go for the first game after the All-Star break next Friday against the Mets.
Holliday, 35, was batting .303/.417/.421 with three home runs and 26 RBI over 52 games prior to the injury.