Aug 2, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) hits a rbi single during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images David Frerker-Imagn Images

Cardinals Address Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson Dilemma

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking ahead to the future.

This was shown to be perfectly clear after trading Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton away. The New York Mets got Helsley, the Boston Red Sox got Matz, and the Texas Rangers got Maton.

The playoffs aren’t likely this season. Right now, the Cardinals have a 58-58 record and are in fourth place in the National League Central and are 13 games out of first place. The Cardinals currently are 5 1/2 games outs of a National League Wild Card spot as well.

Wth that being said, now the most important thing is figuring out who can make an impact beyond this season. The guys who have been the most interesting to follow are Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Alec Burleson. As questions have piled up about “runway” guys for the Cardinals, these three have been at the center of all of the noise.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was asked about the difficulties of building this lineup out and getting playing time.

Cardinals roster certainly won't look the same in 2026

David Frerker-Imagn Images

Marmol joined "The Gashouse Gang" on KMOX Sports and was asked how he handles the decisions for guys, namely Gorman, Walker, and Burleson.

"That’s the big leagues though, right? No, and that's what you don't want to miss on exactly what you just said," Marmol said. "It is over 1,400 at-bats. When you talk about how he hasn't been consistent when it comes to playing time, there's been a decent amount of runs there. Meaningful runs that give you an opportunity to show what you are all about. You can say the same thing about Burleson. But, at some point, you make it impossible for the manager to take you out of the lineup.

"That's what makes you an everyday player when you're young. Let's get serious. You play enough to show what you're capable of doing and then man, make it really damn hard for people to envision the lineup without you in it. There's been certain guys, (Brendan Donovan), Burly, and others who have done a nice job of that. That's what makes the big leagues very difficult. Just taking advantage of the opportunities given."

There were rumors around the trade deadline that the Cardinals at least got some trade interest in some of their young guys. This will be a topic to discuss throughout the offseason.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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