By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny announced the team’s 25-man roster for the National League Division Series against the Cubs on Thursday, just after the conclusion of an afternoon workout at Busch Stadium.

In the biggest news, catcher Yadier Molina, sidelined since straining his left thumb on a play at the plate September 20, “looks great and is ready to go,” Matheny said. After passing all required evaluations, the 33-year-old was included on the roster, although he will play with a special splint on his hand, as he is still not 100 percent healthy.

“Obviously, it was a serious injury,” Molina told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The trainers did a great job. But yeah, the pain is going to be there … I tried the last two days. It feels good. So I’m ready to go.”

After just three relief appearances (allowing one run) following his return from what was believed to be a season-ending Achilles injury, Adam Wainwright also made the roster as a reliever.

“My arm is ready. I don’t need any more seasoning,” Wainwright said on Wednesday. GM John Mozeliak shared he believes Wainwright is now ready to throw multiple innings per appearance, if needed.

Outfielders Tommy Pham and Jon Jay and infielder Greg Garcia were also among the players who made the cut.

With the return of many injured players down the stretch for the redbirds, Matheny knew there would be some tough decisions to make on who to exclude.

“We could sit here for a long time talking about the decisions made on this roster,” the manager said. “You know, it wasn’t a lot of fun. People say it’s a good problem to have, and I say problems are problems. It’s been tough to go sit and talk with some guys who have made serious contributions to this club, and not allow them to be a part of this playoff roster.”

Notable omissions on the roster include first baseman Matt Adams, infielder Pete Kozma, outfielder Peter Bourjos, and relievers Steve Cishek, Matt Belisle and Randy Choate.

Adams is still not back at full strength since returning from a quad strain suffered back in late May. While he did get some at-bats in down the stretch, he hasn’t played much in the field, and the club elected to go with more versatile options in Brandon Moss (1B/OF) and Mark Reynolds (1B/3B).

“Matt Adams is a guy we think very highly of, and somebody that we still want to keep sharp, never knowing how this will play out,” Matheny said. “I can say the same thing about quite a few guys who aren’t on this roster right now.”

MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports that while Choate has not been present at the team’s workouts this week, Belisle and Cishek both threw simulated innings on Thursday to stay sharp in case they’re needed later on.

“I’ll stay ready and prepared, like I am, just in case,” Belisle said. “It’s advantageous to be able to do something like that for the boys. I’ll just prepare like I’ll be in and do whatever else is needed of me.”

Matheny also announced that Jaime Garcia, Michael Wacha, and Lance Lynn will follow John Lackey, in that order, in the starting rotation for game 2-4. Lackey and Garcia will draw starts in St. Louis, while Wacha and Lynn (if necessary) would pitch on the road at Wrigley Field.

Here’s a look at the full roster, which is comprised of 11 pitchers and 14 position players, along with the omissions at each position.

Starting Pitchers (in order of start): John Lackey, Jaime Garcia, Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn

Relievers: Trevor Rosenthal, Kevin Siegrist, Jonathan Broxton, Adam Wainwright, Seth Maness, Carlos Villanueva, Tyler Lyons

• Not included: Randy Choate, Steve Cishek, Matt Belisle, Mitch Harris, Miguel Socolovich, Sam Tuivailala

Catchers: Yadier Molina, Tony Cruz

• Not included: Ed Easley, Travis Tartamella

Infielders: Mark Reynolds, Brandon Moss, Kolten Wong, Jhonny Peralta, Matt Carpenter, Greg Garcia

• Not included: Matt Adams, Pete Kozma

Outfielders: Matt Holliday, Jason Heyward, Stephen Piscotty, Randal Grichuk, Jon Jay, Tommy Pham

• Not included: Peter Bourjos

Mike Matheny announces the @Cardinals NLDS roster – which includes All-Star catcher Yadier Molina. #12inSTLhttps://t.co/kM6yWg2Zss

— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) October 8, 2015

Mike Matheny announces the Cardinals NLDS roster Thursday afternoon (via Fox Sports Midwest on Twitter).

STL Baseball Today NLDS Coverage:

Remaining NLDS schedule released; Maddon announces Cubs’ starters

Lackey gets the call for NLDS Game 1 at Busch against Cubs

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