St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina will try to play with splint

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina apparently will try to play in the postseason with a splint protecting his injured left thumb.

The team announced Monday that Molina had his thumb examined again on Monday by a hand specialist and was told that damage still exists in the ligament in his left thumb.

However, the Cardinals also announced that Molina will have a splint built for the thumb that will try to allow him to both hit and catch.

Molina will test his playing abilities with the splint over the next few days, hoping that he will be available to play when the Cardinals start their playoff series on Friday against the wild-card game winner.

"We are still optimistic that Yadier will be on our postseason roster," general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement released by the team.

Molina, who has not played since Sept. 20, is hitting .270 with four homers this season. He has won the National League Gold Glove for catchers each of the past seven seasons.