3 Cardinals who could still get an All-Star nod

All-Star rosters have been released for this year's showcase on Tuesday, July 16th. Players such as Tyler Glasnow, Shota Imanaga, Freddie Freeman, William Contreras, and Fernando Tatis Jr. headline the National League roster. Corbin Burnes, Seth Lugo, Emmanuel Clase, Salvador Perez, and Gunnar Henderson are some of the biggest names for the American League.

Ryan Helsley will be the St. Louis Cardinals' lone representative at the mid-season classic. He wasn't elected by fans, he wasn't chosen by coaches, and players didn't even select the league leader in saves. Rather, Helsley was chosen simply because each team must have at least one representative at the game. This is the second year in a row that the Cardinals are sending just one player to the All-Star Game. Nolan Arenado was named a starter last year.

Every year, there are replacements named for players for a variety of reasons. Injuries are the primary cause, but pitchers could become unavailable, especially starters if they threw recently or are scheduled to throw in the near future. Other players simply opt-out from playing. In 2023, 15 players were named as replacements. 18 replacements were designated in 2022. This year is sure to have a comparable amount of replacements.

Therefore, despite having only one representative, the Cardinals could still see players from their roster attend the mid-summer classic. There are players on other teams who are deserving of a roster spot and will likely be named as substitutes such as Christian Walker, Francisco Lindor, Patrick Bailey, Brice Turang, and Trevor Megill, but if enough players opt out of the game from the National League, there are some Cardinals whose names might be called to participate.

This isn't a list of snubs. The All-Star roster, in my opinion, is largely accurate. Some changes here and there using the players above would have been welcome, but the players chosen are deserving of a shot to display their abilities on a national level. Instead, these are players who have played well for the Cardinals this year and could find themselves in Dallas on July 16th.

There is still a week left before the big game, and rosters can change dramatically between now and then. These 3 players will have to jump some of their competitors, but the arguments for them to be announced as replacements are strong.

These 3 St. Louis Cardinals players could make the All-Star Game as replacements.