DOWNTOWN — Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina will be fined an undisclosed amount but will not be suspended for his ejection Monday at Milwaukee, the club learned from Major League Baseball on Wednesday.

After arguing a couple calls with home plate umpire Paul Schrieber, the official ejected Molina from the game. Before leaving the field, Molina shed his equipment, deliberately, and then left it in a trail leading from home plate.

“I think it was fair,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said of MLB’s decision. “Given what happened and when you look at Yadier’s history — never been suspended before, even-tempered.”

Molina has declined comment on the incident, except to say he was waiting on the decision from MLB.

On Wednesday, baseball official Mike Perez, an assistant to Bob Watson, the leagues’ vice president for rules and on-field operations, met with Molina to, as Perez said, “get his side of the story.” Pitching coach Dave Duncan said it wasn’t frustration that built through the entire game that led to Molina’s show but the calls that came at key points in the game. (More on that was in this morning’s paper.)

A suspension could have posed a challenge for the Cardinals and their roster. Backup catcher Jason LaRue was slowed by a sore knee this past weekend and Molina’s absence would have asked the Cardinals to choose between going a game or two with just LaRue at catcher (and the emergency catcher Aaron Miles) or make a roster move. MLB decided a suspension was not needed. 

Mostly, Molina’s teammates chuckled at the catcher’s disrobing.

“Did he go too far? Yeah, probably,” manager Tony La Russa said. “But like I said, he’s a been a solid citizen. … He’s been not just a solid citizen, he’s been an exemplary citizen. That’s got to count for something. ”

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