Cardinals Losing Polarizing Slugger Ahead Of Trade Deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals got some bad news on Saturday.

The Athletic's Katie Woo shared that Nolan Gorman is going on the Injured List and the club is calling back up Thomas Saggese in his place.

"As expected, Nolan Gorman hits the IL (back) retroactive to 7/18," Woo said. "Thomas Saggese is back up."

As Woo noted, the announcement wasn't too shocking, but the timing isn't great for St. Louis. There are just 12 days to go until the July 31st trade deadline and tough decisions are going to need to be made. Whether that means selling pieces, added some guys, or just staying the course, decisions will need to be made. Gorman is someone who has been worth watching.

He entered the season as a "runway" guy. Someone who the Cardinals wanted to give plenty of playing time to as the club tries to see what they have in him. He was someone who early on didn't get consistent at-bats, like Jordan Walker or Alec Burleson, but has turned it around of late. But, now, with him hitting the Injured List this close to the trade deadline it's going to make things even trickier.

St. Louis is 51-47 on the season so far and it's going to be a long few weeks. It would be better if Gorman was available, but at least the Cardinals will give Saggese another shot in the mean time. Now, the question is what's next?