3 Cardinals who need to run with their opportunity after Jordan Walker's injury

You never want to see players go down with an injury, but when it does happen, your eyes immediately turn to who can step up in their absence. The St. Louis Cardinals have multiple players who could benefit greatly from the additional playing time that Jordan Walker's injury creates.

The Cardinals announced on Saturday morning that Walker was hitting the injured list with left wrist inflammation, and while it is unclear how long that will sideline him for, it does now create more runway for other young Cardinals who have been hoping to break through in a meaningful way.

Manager Oliver Marmol has had to balance playing time for a number of young players this season, and that has always meant that one or two young players are on the outside looking in when it comes to at-bats. Now that Walker is going to be missing some time, new opportunites are arising.

Here are three Cardinals who need to run with their opportunities while Jordan Walker is on the injured list

Ryan Vilade

Signed to a minor league contract by the Cardinals this past offseason, Ryan Vilade has only played in 20 big league games in his career, posting a 15 wRC+ across those 56 plate appearances. He's now getting a shot once again as he was selected by the Cardinals to replace Walker on the roster.

Vilade did get a brief shot with the Detroit Tigers last season, but has mostly spent time at the minor league level since his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies in 2021. Vilade has not been a big-time producer at the upper levels of the minor leagues, at least not until this year.

Still just 26 years old and the 48th overall pick back in the 2017 MLB Draft, Vilade has had his best year at the Triple-A level by far in his career, slashing .280/.375/.476 with five home runs and 31 RBI to go along with five stolen bases in 48 games so far. It would be a shocking development if Vilade carved out a role in St. Louis, but he has the opportunity to make a name for himself if he takes advantage of his opportunity.

Some are going to be upset that this wasn't Thomas Saggese called up, but given the fact that playing time is hard to come by right now, Saggese would have mostly sat on the bench. Vilade makes sense as a guy who no one will complain is sitting on the bench if he does, but now also gets a shot to show if he has what it takes to be a big leaguer after finally finding success at Triple-A.

If he does run with this opportunity, it is hard to see how he would continue to be on the Cardinals' roster when Walker returns, but it could give him a future with the club once they sort out some of those roster cruches, or it may allow him to find a role with another big league club who wants to take a chance on him.