Nolan

Gorman

He somehow managed to not drive in or score a run despite the two-hit attack, as well as another walk. Gorman has an .879 OPS this spring and figures to be the starting third baseman and hit somewhere in the middle of the order for the Cardinals. All-or-nothing power remains both the ceiling and floor for Gorman.

Gorman remains as all-or-nothing as any hitter, as he’s now got a .751 OPS in 17 spring at-bats that is held up entirely by two homers. He’s batted third or fourth in all of his Grapefruit League contests to date, but we wouldn’t pencil him in for that kind of role just yet. He’s a risky NL-only pick at the moment.

Gorman ruined Jonah Tong’s day by hitting a ball 386 feet with one out in the third. Gorman has mostly played second base in the majors, but the Cardinals appear set to make him Nolan Arenado’s replacement at third base this year. He has some work to do to show he deserves it; since hitting .236/.328/.478 in his first full season in 2023, he’s come it at .204/.284/.385 the last two years.

The deal, which includes an additional $2 million in playing time incentives, is now official. Urías heads to St. Louis as a natural southpaw-mashing platoon partner at the hot corner for left-handed slugger Nolan Gorman. The 31-year-old veteran batted .241/.292/.384 with 11 homers and three steals in 391 plate appearances between the Astros and Orioles last year. He remained effective against left-handed pitching, posting a solid .743 OPS. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

Rosenthal’s report with the exact financial terms comes after Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported on Friday that the two sides were working on a deal. He adds that the deal includes a mutual option for 2027 and an additional $2 million in playing time incentives. The 31-year-old southpaw-masher provides the Cardinals with a short-term stopgap at the hot corner to pair with lefty slugger Nolan Gorman. His arrival further clarifies that the club envisions top prospect JJ Wetherholt at second base, if he’s going to make the Opening Day roster.

Wetherholt has an opportunity to break camp on St. Louis’ season-opening roster with a strong performance in Grapefruit League play and possesses the advanced hit tool and emerging power skillset to be a colossal fantasy difference-maker at a relatively weak second base position group. The 23-year-old top prospect batted .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season and could split time between third base and the keystone with defensive wizard Masyn Winn occupying shortstop. It feels like only a matter of time before he ascends to the top of manager Oli Marmol’s lineup card as a top-of-the-order spark plug. The other interesting name to watch is power/speed combo threat Joshua Baez, who broke out with a 16-homer, 34-steal campaign at Double-A Springfield last year. Here’s the full lineup: Winn (SS), Alec Burleson (1B), Nolan Gorman (3B), Pedro Páges (C), Wetherholt (2B), José Fermín (LF), Nathan Church (CF), Baez (RF) and Blaze Jordan (DH).

Three prospects and two picks, which are set to be 68th or 69th and 72nd or 73rd overall, seems like a fair return for Donovan, who departs two years before becoming eligible for free agency. The move comes just one day after the Mariners revealed that Cijntje, the switch-pitching 2024 first-round pick, would focus on being a right-handed starter this spring and would likely be limited to throwing bullpen sessions left-handed. We’ll have to wait and see if the Cardinals feel the same way. Cijntje throws considerably harder right-handed and projects as a mid-rotation starter used traditionally. He had a 4.58 ERA in 74 2/3 innings in High-A and a 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings in Double-A last year, and he’s probably still a full season away from contributing in the majors. With Donovan joining Nolan Arenado in exiting, the Cardinals now have two starting infield spots available for Nolan Gorman, José Fermín, Thomas Saggese and top prospect JJ Wetherholt. It seems likely that Gorman will get one of them against righties, no matter how little he’s done lately to deserve it.

There are multiple pathways to a starting role for Wetherholt next season in the wake of Nolan Arenado being dealt to the Diamondbacks and with Brendan Donovan continuing to surface in trade rumors. The 23-year-old top prospect batted .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season and could fit at either third base or second if St. Louis is willing to start his service-time clock and let him compete for NL Rookie of the Year honors. Wetherholt projects as an immediate five-category fantasy contributor with a chance to break camp as the Cardinals’ top-of-the-order table-setter. Nolan Gorman is the leading internal candidate to take over at third base, if Wetherholt opens the year back at Triple-A Memphis, though his persistent struggles against left-handed pitching remain an obstacle to everyday at-bats.

The flaw of arbitration is that you can be a pretty terrible player otherwise, but if you hit homers, you’ll get paid. Gorman, who was eligible for arbitration, was decent enough in 2023, but he’s hit .204/.284/.385 with a 36% strikeout rate and bad defense in 218 games the last two years. He’ll probably get another long look this season, assuming that the Cardinals trade Nolan Arenado and/or Brendan Donovan, but José Fermín and Thomas Saggese both project as better players at this point and top prospect JJ Wetherholt could crash the party soon.

As expected, Donovan will remain on the bench for St. Louis’ final two regular-season contests this weekend against the division-rival Cubs following their official elimination from playoff contention. The 28-year-old, who has been battling a lingering groin issue throughout the second half, put together one of the strongest seasons of his career, despite being limited to just 118 games due to injury. It’ll be righty-masher Nolan Gorman getting some additional run at the keystone to close out the regular season.