Nolan Gorman remains on bench against Pirates

It was Gorman’s only hit of the day, but he went his other four at-bats without striking out, which is something. Gorman is 5-for-35 with two homers, five RBI and a 12/1 K/BB in 11 games since returning from Triple-A. He might be looking at a lesser role when Masyn Winn comes off the injured list and Thomas Saggese, who has been filling in at shortstop, resumes roaming.

Gorman nearly got one today; his 360-foot flyout to right in the sixth would have been a homer in 21 ballparks, according to Statcast. With the Cardinals losing a third infielder to the IL on Sunday, Gorman figures to be looking at steady playing time against righties for a while. How he fares in September likely will determine whether he’s included in the Cardinals’ plans for 2027.

Jordan appeared to roll his ankle while stretching to make an awkward tag at third base. He needed to be helped off the field by Cardinals’ manager Oli Marmol and the training staff as he was unable to put weight on it. He’ll head for further evaluation and imaging to determine the extent of the injury. Nolan Gorman replaced him at third base and could be in line for increased action if Jordan is forced to miss any time.

It’s expected that Masyn Winn will land on the injured list in a corresponding move. The Cardinals have been working on Gorman’s approach and mechanics in the minors, tweaking his batting stance and swing a bit. The power has been there in August, where he has hit seven home runs with a .903 OPS, but he continues to swing and miss a ton with a 37.8 percent strikeout rate in August as well. Even if Gorman gets regular at-bats with the big league club, it’s hard to see him producing much fantasy value unless all you care about are home runs.

Gorman went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts on Thursday and that appears to have been the final straw for the Cardinals. The 26-year-old has flailed to a miserable .194/.279/.318 slash line with seven homers, 26 RBI and a 74/25 K/BB ratio over 229 plate appearances on the season. Blaze Jordan was recalled in a corresponding move to take his place on the active roster.

Gorman often comes out of games against lefties, but in an extreme show of low confidence, the Cardinals today had Bryan Torres hit for him against Devin Williams in the ninth. The Cardinals should have demoted Gorman instead of Thomas Saggese last week, but they kept him around and have watched him go hitless in four games since. He’s down to .194/.279/.318 for the year in 229 plate appearances for the year. Saggese apparently is hurt now — he hasn’t played for Triple-A Memphis since Saturday — but the Cardinals still could go to Blaze Jordan at third if they wanted.

Gorman has eight plate appearances in his last three games and has struck out in seven of them. He’s 2-for-33 with no extra-base hits, runs or RBI and 19 strikeouts in his last 11 games. He also had a misplay in the ninth tonight that went as a single and a throwing error, though most third basemen would have handled the chance without incident. Maybe the Cardinals will give Blaze Jordan a shot at third, but it seems notable that he’s played first base or DH’d in four straight games now after starting at third base in 26 of his first 44 starts for Triple-A Memphis. If the Cardinals don’t trust Jordan at third, Thomas Saggese still could be an upgrade from Gorman.

There’s no shame in having a rough game against Jacob Misiorowski, and, hey, Gorman did at least make him throw five pitches in his first at-bat before going down on three in each the remaining two. Gorman had a little six-game hitting streak from May 12-19 that included a homer, but in five games since, he’s 1-for-19 with nine strikeouts. He’s at .218/.303/.347 overall, and he still should be a candidate to be replaced by Thomas Saggeese or Blaze Jordan at some point.

Gorman had the first- and third-hardest hit balls of the game and both were liners, but he had nothing to show for the 111- and 108-mph drives. Gorman is batting .218/.287/.361 this season after coming in at .204/.284/.385 in 804 plate appearances between 2024 and ’25. It might be about time for the Cardinals to give Blaze Jordan a look in his place.

Gorman’s home run was his fourth of the season. He’s hitting .221 with four home runs, 11 runs and 18 RBI in 28 games this year. Gorman hasn’t had a league average wRC+ since 2023. Even after hitting his fourth home run, his .147 ISO would be the lowest of his career. Turning 26 next month, Gorman appears closer to losing playing time to someone like Thomas Saggesse than breaking out.