ST. LOUIS -- Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina were enjoying the company of their teammates Friday afternoon, eager to have them back at Busch Stadium to start a six-game homestand.

Perhaps the two were even more eager to join them on the field for light baseball activity, including playing catch and running around the field.

Ozuna (fractured right fingers) and Molina (right thumb tendon strain) are progressing steadily in their rehab, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Friday. While there’s still no timeline for their returns, Shildt said there is more clarity now than when the injuries occurred -- June 29 for Ozuna, who jammed the fingers running the bases in San Diego, and July 8 for Molina, whose thumb injury lingered from his injured-list stint in June.

"It's getting better day by day,” Ozuna said about his grip strength. “I feel like one more week, and I'll be ready to go. I feel good swinging. There's still some swelling a little bit, but minimum. But I'm good. Throwing's OK."

Ozuna’s middle and ring fingers still have some inflammation, but he has been swinging the bat and participating in flip drills. He took light batting practice Friday, and he said he hopes to be on a rehab assignment by next week.

Molina, who is still experiencing discomfort, will see a hand specialist later Friday to evaluate what the timeline looks like and what baseball activity he can participate in moving forward. He will also likely need a rehab assignment when he gets cleared.

“I think we pretty much knew going in right away that we were going to take a full three weeks post-All-Star to let [Molina’s thumb] heal,” Shildt said. “With Ozuna, there’s more clarity now, but there was a two- to six-week range based on how the inflammation went down. So I can’t be overly surprised with where he’s at, either. He’s doing pretty much everything we’ve asked him to do -- both of them have -- to get back. It’s just a matter of, unfortunately, the rest and how it heals.”

Additionally, Jedd Gyorko (left calf strain) took batting practice Friday afternoon and will have a clearer timeline of his return after he meets with the medical team Saturday.

2004 NL Championship Anniversary

Busch Stadium is hosting the 15-year anniversary of the Cardinals’ 2004 National League Championship this weekend, bringing back a slew of former players. There will be a ceremony before Saturday’s game to honor the team that won the organization’s 16th pennant over, perhaps not-so-coincidentally, the Astros, who are in St. Louis this weekend for a three-game set.

“You appreciate the '04 club coming back,” Shildt said. “We’re very grateful, this organization, to have teams that have had a lot of success, and we’re very intentional about bringing those guys back so we don’t forget the accomplishments they had because those are pretty special accomplishments. I’m pretty excited to see that group come back and enjoy each other and get to celebrate them a little bit and get to thank them. That was my first year in the organization, so it was pretty cool to be on a National League Championship winning team.”

There are 24 players scheduled to reunite at Busch Stadium this weekend, and on Saturday, they’ll be introduced from the dugout pregame and get to throw out the first pitch.