Cardinals' Yadier Molina: Does light catching drills

Molina (thumb) went through light catching drills Friday for the first time since undergoing a second surgery on his thumb, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Molina was cleared earlier in the week to catch a baseball, and he remains in the team's program to build strength in his surgically repaired left thumb. Molina noted that he plans to return to catching before hitting, so it's still unclear when he'll be allowed to start swinging a bat. As Cards' GM John Mozeliak emphasized Friday, the team's primary goal at this stage is avoiding a third surgery to Molina's hand.