Nolan Gorman’s .194 Average Forced St. Louis to Hit Pause on His Development

The St. Louis Cardinals made a roster shake-up Friday that effectively says: Nolan Gorman needs a reset, not a goodbye. The 26-year-old infielder, once the jewel of the Cardinals’ farm system, was optioned to Triple-A Memphis after posting a .194/.279/.318 slash line over 62 games. It’s a raw number that undersells how badly Gorman has looked at the plate, but the team is making clear this isn’t a surrender.

In corresponding moves, the Cardinals called up infielder Blaze Jordan and right-handed pitcher Chris Roycroft from Triple-A. Righty Hunter Dobbins also got demoted to Memphis, and infielder Ramon Urias was shifted to the 60-day injured list after what the team described as a setback in his recovery. No official word on Urias’s specific injury, but the move opens a 40-man roster spot for the newly promoted players.

What Went Wrong for Gorman?

The left-handed hitter made his big-league debut in 2022 and flashed star potential almost immediately. By 2023, he’d crushed 27 homers with an .805 OPS, looking like the middle-of-the-order bat St. Louis had long coveted. But the flip side has always been a strikeout rate that hovers above 30 percent, and this season the misses have become more frequent—and more damaging.

His chase rate spiked, and his exit velocity on contact dropped noticeably. Fans online noted that Gorman seemed to be pressing, trying to lift every pitch over the wall instead of taking what pitchers gave him. The numbers back that up: his ground-ball rate fell, and his whiff percentage on pitches in the zone climbed. When you’re hitting below .200 and not drawing enough walks to compensate, the calculus changes.

Still, the Cardinals have not given up on him. According to team sources, the hope is that a stint in Memphis allows Gorman to simplify his approach without the pressure of a pennant race. He’s still only 26 years old, and his raw power remains elite. The task now is getting him to trust his hands again.

Cardinals Keep Rolling Despite the Roster Juggling

The timing of the move is telling. St. Louis entered Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins with a 37-29 record, good for second place in the NL Central—well ahead of where most preseason projections had them. The Twins, meanwhile, are scuffling at 31-39 and sitting third in the AL Central.

First pitch at Target Field was scheduled for 8:10 p.m. EST. The Cardinals have been exceeding expectations behind strong pitching and timely hitting, and the front office clearly wants to keep that momentum going. Sending Gorman down isn’t a white flag; it’s a recalibration.

For Gorman, the road back starts Friday night in Triple-A. If he can find the swing that produced 27 homers two years ago, the Cardinals will be waiting. The talent hasn’t vanished—it’s just buried under a .194 average that needed a fresh start.