Cardinals Slot Triple-A Call-Up Nolan Gorman Right Into Lineup vs. Orioles

Nolan Gorman had no time to breathe after being called up from the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds Tuesday morning and immediately slotted into the St. Louis Cardinals’ Tuesday night lineup. He will bat sixth and serve as the designated hitter after a broken thumb sent Masyn Winn to the injured list. 

The 26-year-old third baseman has spent the last 2.5 months of his fifth Major League season in the minors after not showing enough improvement at the big-league level. 

Gorman made his Cardinals debut in 2022, putting up a respectable slash line over 89 games played. The next season, the rookie looked like he was well on his way to becoming an MLB mainstay. Gorman slugged a career-high 27 home runs and 76 RBI in 2023. His .236/.328./.805 slash were all career highs as well, and he finished the year with a 2.4 WAR.

Unfortunately, it was all downhill after the outstanding rookie campaign. The next season, he came back to earth with just a .204 batting average, but the slugging percentage stayed respectable. 

Last season, even the power left as he swatted just 14 home runs in 111 games, the same figure he hit in 89 games in 2022.

Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals front office had finally seen enough this season, sending Gorman down to the minors after 62 games this season. 

Nolan Gorman Struggled In 2026

Gorman’s demotion came with good reason. Through 62 games, he was batting just .194 with seven home runs and 26 RBI. 

He was sent down on June 11 after recording just one hit in the previous 10 games and striking out 16 times. 

Gorman Wasn’t Exactly Raking In Triple-A

I hate being this guy, but Gorman wasn’t posting eye-popping statistics during his brief stint in Memphis. 

Gorman was batting .182 and struck out almost as many times in 46 games as he did in the majors. On the bright side, his power returned with 13 of his 30 hits going over the fence. 

Some are already dubbing this call-up Gorman’s last chance. While I’m not quite sure that’s true, he can certainly do himself a lot of favors with a respectable showing against the Baltimore Orioles.

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