USA TODAY Sports

With playoff hopes being completely out of the picture, it seems that the St. Louis Cardinals are hobbling to the finish line this season.

After Dylan Carlson and Wilson Contreras were recently added to the injured list due to recurring injuries, another key piece to the lineup has been missing for a lingering injury as well.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman was placed on the bench Monday against the Oakland Athletics after a lingering back injury continues to cause great discomfort. 

"He’s dealt with this for quite some time, and he’s got a program away from the field, at the field, offseason," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said to the press Tuesday, as transcribed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Daniel Guerrero. "This isn’t catching anybody by surprise or there’s no plan for it. There’s nothing new we’re doing in order to stay ahead of it." 

Fortunately, it seems as though this injury is nothing too serious.

"This just happens from time to time to him, and he’s sidelined for a little bit," Marmol said.

Gorman was sidelined for the same ailment in 2022 and was listed as day-to-day but never found himself on the injured list -- just as it is now. He's missed two games in a row and appears to be day-to-day.

The 23-year-old stud is having an outstanding second season hitting .241 with 40 extra-base hits including 24 home runs, 67 RBIs, and a .815 OPS in 104 games this season.

With St. Louis sitting at an atrocious 54-67 record, the team is simply hoping to survive the remainder of this season without losing any key talents for next year. Playing it safe and sitting Gorman for now would be in the team's best interest as this season already is a lost cause.

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