ARLINGTON -- The Cardinals will be without Jordan Walker in the near future, placing him on the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation on Saturday, retroactive to Thursday.
Walker had found his offensive stroke of late, batting .300 (12-for-40) in his last 14 games played with a .792 OPS and 11 RBIs. Manager Oliver Marmol acknowledged there is some frustration, especially with Walker heating up at the plate, but it felt like the right decision.
“Yeah, [it’s frustrating], but I don’t think it’s going to be more than the 10 days,” Marmol said. “We’ll have him back pretty soon.”
Walker wasn’t able to take batting practice on Friday and likely wouldn’t have been an option for a few more days. Alec Burleson made his second consecutive start in right field on Saturday.
In a corresponding move, the Cardinals selected outfielder Ryan Vilade from Triple-A Memphis. Vilade, who is expected to arrive in the middle of Saturday’s game, was batting .280 with five home runs and 31 RBIs at Memphis.
Vilade played in the big leagues in 2021 with Colorado and in 2024 with Detroit.
Asked about what he liked about Vilade in Spring Training, Marmol said: “Professional at-bat, did a really nice job of just grinding at-bats. I like his overall intent and his approach. He had a good spring for us. He showed well, and it gives us some versatility as far as where you can put him on the field. He’s played some infield, some outfield.”
The Cardinals made a couple of pitching moves before Saturday’s game as well, optioning righty Gordon Graceffo to Memphis and recalling right-hander Roddery Muñoz. Marmol said Graceffo will remain in a relief role at Memphis with the idea of him being a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen.