The St. Louis Cardinals have had a lackluster offensive season according to their standards. With one month remaining in the 2025 season, players are playing for their individual spots on the roster for next season. With a power shift taking place following the season, with Chaim Bloom taking over as president of baseball operations, the expectation is that wholesale changes are supposed to be made.
Key players have already been traded off the Cardinals' roster, and more trades are expected this offseason, which has Cardinals' fans curious about the future of Nolan Gorman.
Cardinals' writer believes Nolan Gorman should be a part of the 2026 team
Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes that the Cardinals' front office should hold onto Nolan Gorman for the next season.
"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.
Gorman is hitting just .213 this season, but has 13 home runs in 93 games and an OPS of .719. He struggles against lefties, but if you look at his career body of work, Gorman has always been a slightly above-average hitter (103 OPS+).
His defense needs some work, but he still has infield versatility, and he's shown slight improvements with his plate discipline. Nolan Gorman's name will certainly be a name on the hot stove as the Winter months approach, but if Chaim Bloom allows him to play out a full season, he could put it all together like he showed in his breakout 2023 campaign.
The Cardinals are already not expected to compete in the National League Central next season, so why not allow a guy like Gorman to work out his struggles?