ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals activated Matt Holliday from the disabled list on Friday, and the veteran outfielder could make his final appearance with the team this weekend.
Holliday broke his left thumb when he was hit by a pitch Aug. 11. The Cardinals are not planning to pick up their $17 million option on his contract for 2017.
"Matt had reached out to me earlier in the week to have an understanding of what we’re going to do with his option. I told him the probability of us picking it up is low," general manager John Mozeliak said.
Holliday asked if he could come off the disabled list in order to make an appearance before the fans at Busch Stadium.
"It’s been seven and a half great seasons, Matt has been an amazing teammate and we’ve had a lot of success," Mozeliak said. "He is grateful for being a part of the Cardinals the past 7 1/2 years and he wants to express his thank you to the fans."
Manager Mike Matheny said he plans to use the 36-year-old Holliday as a pinch hitter in one of the three final games against Pittsburgh.
Holliday signed a $120 million, seven-year contract after the 2010 season that remains the largest in Cardinals history. If the team declines to exercise his option, he would receive a $1 million buyout.
"While I’m disappointed this could be it here in St. Louis, I understand that it might be time to move on," Holliday said in a statement. "It has been an honour to play in front of such great fans and for such a historic organization. I can honestly say it has been a dream come true."
Holliday helped St. Louis win the 2011 World Series, the 2013 National League pennant and reach the playoffs the past five seasons. Since coming to the Cardinals at the trade deadline in 2009, Holliday has hit .292 with 155 home runs and made four All-Star teams.
He was hitting .242 with 19 home runs this season before he got hurt. Mozeliak did not rule out the possibility of negotiating a new deal with Holliday after the season.
"Saying there is no chance that he’s coming back, I’m not prepared to do that," Mozeliak said. "We haven’t had our off-season meetings. We have an understanding of what we want to see happen but those kinds of conversations are done at season’s end."
The Cardinals entered Friday’s game against Pittsburgh trailing the San Francisco Giants by one game for the National League’s second wild card.
Matheny also said right-hander Michael Wacha would start Saturday against Pittsburgh.