The Cardinals introduced that outfielder Jordan Walker has been positioned on the staff’s 10-day injured record (retroactive to Could 29) attributable to left wrist irritation. Proper-hander Gordon Graceffo has additionally been optioned to Triple-A, whereas developing from Triple-A are right-hander Roddery Munoz and utilityman Ryan Vilade. In Vilade’s case, his minor league contract was chosen to the Playing cards’ lively roster.
The IL journey comes at a very inopportune time for Walker, as he was beginning to warmth up after an prolonged hunch. After posting only a .502 OPS over his first 138 plate appearances of the season, Walker had hit .333/.353/.545 over his final 34 journeys to the dish. These ups and downs have come over the primary true prolonged stint of on a regular basis taking part in time Walker has had in his three MLB seasons, as he has been the Cardinals’ beginning proper fielder for almost all of the 2025 season.
St. Louis got here into the yr dedicated to discovering taking part in time for a few of its youthful gamers, and Walker has remained a lineup common regardless of his struggles. With Walker now sidelined, Alec Burleson or Brendan Donovan might see extra time within the outfield, and Donovan transferring extra into the outfield combine might open up second base for Nolan Gorman.
Vilade’s multi-positional skill must also internet him some seems to be because the 26-year-old is on the verge of his first large league motion of 2025. The Cardinals signed Vilade to a minor league deal through the offseason, and he has up to now performed all three outfield positions in addition to first, second, and third base over 48 video games with Triple-A Memphis. Past his contributions to the depth chart, Vilade has additionally drawn consideration along with his bat, as he’s hitting .280/.375/.476 over 192 PA with Memphis.
Vilade’s MLB resume consists of 20 profession video games — three with the Rockies in 2021 and 17 with the Tigers final season, with 56 PA and a .416 OPS to point out for that small style of the Present. His minor league numbers are naturally rather more strong, with Vilade producing persistently higher offense over elements of 4 seasons now of Triple-A ball.
