Aug 26, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) hits a two run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Cardinals Writer Urges Team To Keep Emerging Slugger For 2026

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 3:06 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals recently played a little spoiler against the Cincinnati Reds, winning two out of three games against their National League Central rivals and Wild Card hopefuls. St. Louis is out of contention themselves and looking towards the future. They traded pitchers Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz and Phil Maton at the deadline as part of a sell-off, signaling the start of a much needed rebuild.

Some key players may be traded this coming offseason for St. Louis. They have an influx of left-handed bats and catchers and not enough right-handed bats or starting pitchers. The time has come to address these logjams and clear paths for other players to prove themselves.

Infielder Nolan Gorman is a potential trade candidate for St. Louis. However, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch listed several reasons why Gorman should remain in St. Louis for the start of the Chaim Bloom era.

Cardinals Writer Urges Team To Keep Resurgent Slugger For 2026

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"Just two years ago, Gorman hit 27 homers and had a 5.8% home run rate. He had 464 plate appearances that year, so he didn’t qualify for league leaders. If he had, his home run rate would’ve been seventh-best in the NL. Even in 2024, he hit 19 with a 4.7% home run rate — that would’ve been 11th-best in the NL if qualified," Hochman wrote.

"That’s a lot of power to give up on."

Gorman is hitting just .217/.317/.402 with a .719 OPS this season. However, in limited opportunities, he has hit 13 home runs and has cut down on the strikeouts. His walk-rate has also increased, so there are signs of progress for the 25-year-old infielder.

While his defense needs to improve, he does have plenty of power from the left side of the plate and can play three of the four infield positions. This would certainly give St. Louis a reason to keep him around for 2026 as they begin their rebuild.

It would also allow them to clear out the logjams created by John Mozeliak. Gorman came to the Major Leagues in 2022 and has been a source of power since being called up for the first time. If he gets a full season of runway as a starting player, he could potentially put it all together in 2026.

It will be interesting to see what the Cardinals decide to do.

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

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