You won't believe which Cardinals castaway has found his stroke with the Rays this time

The Tampa Bay Rays have done it again. One of the smartest teams in baseball when it comes to developing players has unearthed another one-time St. Louis Cardinals dud and molded him into a productive big-league bat. Ryan Vilade, whom the Cardinals dumped onto waivers in June 2025 and who appeared in all of one game with the Cincinnati Reds following their claim of him, has put everything together in Tampa Bay and is playing a supplementary role in the Rays' division lead.

In seven games with the Cardinals in 2025, Vilade accrued just one hit in 13 at-bats while striking out five times, and perhaps the only notable tidbit about him in a Cardinals uniform is the fact that manager Oli Marmol bizarrely opted to play him against left-handed pitchers over Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman after Jordan Walker had gone down with an injury.

Perhaps Marmol saw something that nobody else did, because Vilade has broken out in 2026. As of July 8, he's hitting .263 with a .785 OPS in 133 at-bats, and he's clubbed six home runs while holding solid walk and strikeout rates. The Rays have mostly been deploying Vilade in right field and sprinkled him in at first base on occasion.

Originally intended to play almost solely against left-handers, Vilade has received more chances against right-handers than expected given the Rays' somewhat empty outfield, and he's produced fairly even splits, with a .255 average against right-handers and a .269 average against lefties. OPS-wise, Vilade is actually slightly better against righties, at .788, compared with .783 against the left side.

The Cardinals and Rays hold a significant, albeit overstated, trade history

The Rays are a marvel across baseball. The team operates on a shoestring budget, but, through staying ahead of their opponents on the analytical margins, the Rays have managed to keep their head above water and compete in the rugged American League East. Cardinals fans are intimately familiar with the deal that sent Randy Arozarena to the Rays in exchange for Matthew Liberatore, one that most members of the Cardinals fanbase wish they could have back. But Arozarena isn't the only recent player the Cardinals have sent to Tropicana Field.

The Cardinals also traded Richie Palacios, Dylan Carlson and Chris Roycroft to Tampa Bay in separate moves over the past few seasons, which shows that despite the reputation, the Rays aren't infallible. Carlson didn't work out in Tampa Bay after a strong start and is now clinging to his career in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Palacios was a surprise for the Cardinals in 2023 but has settled into a role as a slightly below-average second baseman. It's too early to tell how Roycroft will shake out, but it didn't start on the right foot, as he allowed two home runs in two innings during his only outing thus far.

Cardinals fans scrutinize former Cardinals who latch on with the Rays more closely than they would with most other teams because of how badly St. Louis appears to have been burned in the Arozarena deal. However, Vilade shouldn't be lumped in with that one, as he was signed off the scrap heap and had bounced around four organizations before finding a home with the Rays.

Cardinals President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom began his career in the Rays front office, and he's working on bringing that new advanced style of thinking to a franchise that desperately needs it. Perhaps soon, the Cardinals will uncover a Vilade of their own under the new regime.

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