C Brayan Pena (left knee) resumed his rehab assignment Wednesday night at Triple-A Memphis. Pena halted it Tuesday to attend to a personal matter.

C Brayan Pena (knee) has temporarily halted his rehab assignment at Double-A Springfield, but not due to injury. Pena had to leave for a personal matter but is planning to resume playing soon. In six games of rehab action, Pena is 3-for-19 and has caught one of three basestealers.

C Brayan Pena began a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on Tuesday night, going 0-2 with a strikeout. Pena, 34, began the season on the disabled list after suffering a left knee injury during Spring Training.

C Brayan Pena made his first rehab appearances for Double-A Springfield on Tuesday, going 0-2 at the plate and catching four innings.

C Brayan Pena and RHP Seth Maness will begin minor-league rehab assignments this week for Double-A Springfield. Pena was expected to start on Tuesday night. Maness will pitch Wednesday.

C Brayan Pena began a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on Tuesday night, going 0-for-2. Pena, 34, began the season on the disabled list after sustaining a left knee injury during spring training.

C Brayan Pena (left knee) will start a rehab assignment on Tuesday night at Double-A Springfield. Pena was injured late in spring training and hasn't played yet this season.

C Brayan Pena (left knee) will start a rehab assignment Tuesday at Double-A Springfield. Pena, who was injured near the end of spring training when he slipped on wet dugout steps at the Nationals' spring training home in Viera, Fla., is expected to take close to three weeks for his rehab stint, giving him a chance to work his legs into game shape. It will also enable him to get enough swings from both sides of the plate.

C Brayan Pena (left knee) again took swings off a batting tee from both sides of the plate Saturday, continuing his rehab from an injury that occurred late in spring training when he slipped on wet dugout steps at the Washington Nationals' park in Viera, Fla. Pena, who took 60 pitches from each side of the plate, has no timetable for when he could start a rehab assignment.

C Brayan Pena (left knee) took 60 pitches from each side of the plate Friday as he advances in his rehab from an injury that occurred late in spring training. Pena, who plans to do that again Saturday, also took swings off a tee. There is no timetable for when Pena might begin a rehab stint.

C Brayan Pena (left knee) took 60 pitches from each side of the plate on Friday as he continues to progress in his rehab and plans to do the same on Saturday.

C Brayan Pena (left knee) has started using an antigravity treadmill, but is still at least two weeks away from being able to make more significant progress in his rehab. Pena was injured late in spring training while slipping on dugout steps at the Nationals' spring training stadium in Viera, Fla., and hasn't been able to play yet. He was a free-agent signee in December.

C Brayan Pena underwent arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove loose bodies from his left knee and is expected to be out for approximately one month. C Eric Fryer will serve as C Yadier Molina's backup while Pena recovers.

C Brayan Pena was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and is expected to undergo left knee surgery later this week. Pena has loose bodies in the knee, the result of slipping in the dugout during a spring training game. Signed as a free agent in the offseason to serve as the backup to C Yadier Molina, Pena is expected to be out from two-to-four weeks.

C Brayan Pena (loose bodies in left knee) was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday.

C Brayan Pena will start the season on the Cardinals' 15-day disabled list and undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.Pena will fly back to St. Louis on Sunday and undergo the surgery in the next couple of days, manager Mike Matheny said. The 34-year-old Pena likely will be out 2-4 weeks. Pena injured his knee by slipping on a dugout step while he was carrying his catcher's gear before a spring training game.The Cardinals signed Pena on Nov. 30 to a two-year, $5 million contract to be the backup to Yadier Molina. Pena batted .273 with no home runs and 18 RBIs last season for the Cincinnati Reds.

St. Louis Cardinals backup catcher Brayan Pena will start the season on the 15-day disabled list and undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.Pena will fly back to St. Louis on Sunday and undergo the surgery in the next couple of days, manager Mike Matheny said Saturday.The 34-year-old Pena likely will be out 2-4 weeks.Pena injured his knee by slipping on a dugout step while he was carrying his catcher's gear before a spring training game."It's sad. It really makes me mad, because you work hard and you try to be in the best position to help your team and then something like that happens," Pena said. "It's not something related to the game or that you did something. It's because it was a wet dugout that got me hurt. Now, I have to go under the knife because of that, so it's very sad."The Cardinals signed Pena on Nov. 30 to a two-year, $5 million contract to be the backup to Yadier Molina. Pena batted .273 with no home runs and 18 RBIs last season for the Cincinnati Reds.The Cardinals added 30-year old catcher Eric Fryer, who has played 65 major league games with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins, to the 25-man roster for Sunday's season opener at the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fryer has hit a career .243 in 140 at-bats, with two homers and 11 RBIs.

C Brayan Pena gives St. Louis what appears to be a better backup option for durable but aging All-Star Yadier Molina. Pena batted .273 with no homers and 18 RBIs in 333 at-bats with Cincinnati last year while also filling in at first base. Pena walks almost as much as he fans and is regarded as a competent defender, having thrown out 28 percent of basestealers in 434 major league games behind the plate. The temptation for manager Mike Matheny to run Molina into the ground should be removed with Pena's presence.

C Brayan Pena signed a two-year, $5 million free agent deal with the Cardinals on Monday. He will back up Yadier Molina.Pena, 33, is a veteran of 11 seasons in the majors, batting a combined .260 with 23 home runs and 164 RBIs in 629 career games with Atlanta (2005-08), Kansas City (2009-12), Detroit (2013) and Cincinnati (2014-15). The 5-foot-9, 240-pound Cuban native led the Reds in games caught (86) in 2015 while batting .273 with a career-best .334 on-base percentage. Pena, a switch-hitter, batted .295 with a .347 on-base percentage versus right-handed pitching this year.

Pena (hamstring) is back in the lineup Tuesday.

Pena had been out of the starting lineup since Sept. 8 with a strained right hamstring, with Tucker Barnhart filling in behind the plate during his absence. With that being said, it's tough to envision Pena staying in at catcher the entire game, meaning Barnhart could get more at-bats later in the game. The 33-year-old catcher will continue what is arguably his best season as a pro when he hits sixth in the order against the Cards.