By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | September 30, 2016, 6:58 pm CT

After missing nearly two months due to a broken right thumb, Matt Holliday was activated from the disabled list by the Cardinals on Friday for what could be his final few days wearing the birds on the bat.

The veteran outfielder’s lengthy tenure with the redbirds appears likely to be nearing its end, as general manager John Mozeliak told reporters Friday that the club expects to decline the 36-year-old’s $17 million 2017 option.

“I told him the probability of us picking it was probably low,” Mozeliak told reporters, including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Assuming they decline his option, the Cardinals will pay Holliday a $1 million buyout.

Acquired by the Cardinals during the 2009 season during a trade deadline deal with the Oakland Athletics, Holliday signed a seven-year, $120 million contract with the redbirds during the next offseason.

Although injuries have kept him off the field for significant periods since the start of 2016, Holliday has been key to the Cardinals’ success for the better part of the last decade. He hit 20 or more home runs for the redbirds for five consecutive seasons for 2010-2014, and across nearly 1,000 games with the Cardinals, Holliday has posted a .292/.379/.493 batting line with 155 homers and 614 RBI.

“What we’ve decided to do is activate him today and the purpose of that is because we don’t know what the future’s going to hold,” Mozeliak told reporters, including Brian Stull of STL Baseball Weekly, Friday afternoon. “Matt had reached out to me earlier in the week, asking me to have an understanding on what we were going to do with his option. I told him the probability of us picking it up is probably low. I asked him if he would like that moment, if he could get a chance to play this weekend to do that–it’s been 7 1/2 years and they’ve been great years.”

Addressing the possibility that Holliday might still return to the club, Mozeliak said, “Speaking in absolutes and saying there’s no chance of him coming back — I’m not prepared to do that. We haven’t had our offseason meetings.”

Holliday, described by the team as “too emotional” to comment on the decisions, issued a statement through the club Friday evening:

I would like to thank Mr. DeWitt, Mo and the entire ownership group for the opportunity to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.

I am proud of what we have accomplished on and off the field during the past seven years. I have also been humbled by the incredible support and participation in our Homers for Health program.

It has been an honor to play in front of such great fans and for such an historic organization. I can honestly say it has been a dream come true.

While I’m disappointed this could be it here in St. Louis, I understand that it might be time to move on.

I’d like to express my love and admiration for Tony, Mike, and all of the coaches and staff that I have had the pleasure to do life with these past 7+ years.

The most emotional part of this is my teammates and the relationships I’ve built with some of these guys over the years. Particularly, Adam and Yadi, to be considered part of the core with two of the finest human beings I’ve ever known.

Finally, I’m eternally thankful for the Lord bringing me to the city of St. Louis in August of 2009. Lots of cool stuff has happened since then. On behalf of my wife Leslee and our children, Jackson, Ethan, Gracyn and Reed – Thank you!

Matt

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