2 Cardinals who blew their opportunities in another runway season

The St. Louis Cardinals just clinched their second consecutive losing season and fans are ready for the year to end. There were plenty of high points throughout the summer, but the overall record left plenty to be desired despite the rebuild tag put on 2026. A few of the shortcomings came from underperformance from established talent, even with these guys getting unlimited opportunities to prove their future value.

With the 2026 season looking to be a fact-finding mission for the future, the Cardinals front office needed to see what they already had on the roster. This meant that their holdovers from last season were to be given their true "runway" this year after tiptoeing the line of contention and rebuilding. Victor Scott II was already seeing his hold on center field slip last season, but Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore were expected to again get a 162 game sample to see if they belong in St. Louis.

Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore were the biggest losers in the Cardinals' rebuild season

Starting in the field, the Cardinals had an obvious hole at third base once Nolan Arenado was traded. Even when he was on his downturn or on the injured list, the Cardinals struggled to replace him on both sides of the ball. When Chaim Bloom finally made the decision to cut ties with the veteran, the obvious solution to the vacancy was slugger Nolan Gorman. The lefty had shown flashes of promise during his time in St. Louis, but there was always some sort of situation that prevented him getting a full season's worth of at-bats. Unfortunately, we saw more of the same from the strikeout-prone infielder.

Over his first 55 games of consistent starts, Gorman was hitting .210 with six homers and 66 strikeouts. While the swing-and-miss was always going to be part of his game, he showed small improvements in his chase rate but the contact did not come with it. The Cardinals had finally seen enough of his new approach and no results so they sent him down to Triple-A Memphis in the middle of June. Things did not get much better for him there, but he eventually got called back up at the end of August thanks to injuries and poor performances on the big league club in late August.

Gorm's promotion came with another everyday opportunity as nobody was able to take hold of third base over the season's first four months. His time in Memphis did nothing for his big league game as he hit a miserable .167, two homers, and a 33% strikeout rate. His poor play coincided with Thomas Saggese coming into his own, so Gorman's playing time tapered off during the last month of the year. Next season will be Gorman's sixth year in the big leagues and it is looking more likely that he will have to figure things out in another organization.

How that happens will be up to Bloom as Gorman is in the arbitration process. The Cardinals could opt to not offer him a contract and make him a non-tender candidate this offseason. They may also try to negotiate a new salary for 2027 to keep him affordable and attractive to rival teams. What his cost in both money and trade return is is anybody's guess, so simply cutting ties may be the simplest option.

That type of move may not be as simple when we move to Matthew Liberatore. The 2026 Opening Day starter has had few highlights this season, but has shown value outside of the rotation in the past. Obviously, a cost-controlled and healthy southpaw is a piece that most teams are always looking for, but Liberatore has had a hard time making good on that value.

After bouncing between the bullpen and rotation since debuting, Liberatore was an unquestioned starter coming into 2026 and got the ball on the season's first day. That honor may end up being the highlight of Liberatore's season as he closes the year with a 6-14 record and a 5.23 ERA. The loss total is good for the second-worst in all of baseball while his ERA is the second-highest among pitchers with at least 150 innings pitched. With the 2026 season looking towards the future, Liberatore had an unlimited leash in hopes of finding what made him a top pitching prospect in the minors.

Libby only had two months under a 4.00 ERA and in each of those months, he put up a 3.98 ERA while opponents still tagged him for a .283 batting average in that time. Like Gorman, Liberatore has been in the bigs for five seasons and his overall body of work is uninspiring for his future. While the southpaw has not been stellar in either role, he has had plenty more success as a reliever and that could be his long-term move if he wants to stick around in the league. With the Cardinals having plenty of their own bullpen issues, a transition back to the pen for Liberatore may be best for player and organization.

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