St. Louis Cardinals promote Nolan Gorman to Triple-A

The St. Louis Cardinals will not rush Nolan Gorman to the majors, but they promoted him to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

The chatter surrounding St. Louis Cardinals prized infield prospect Nolan Gorman has varied this season. It spanned from potentially trading him for Max Scherzer to calling him up early to give the offense a shot in the arm as it continues to struggle in a way that seemed unimaginable when they acquired Nolan Arenado this winter.

But the Cardinals have continued to preach patience with Gorman, insisting that they will not call him up before he is ready. That has indeed been the case, but the team recently promoted Gorman from Double-A to Triple-A Memphis, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said, via Katie Woo of The Athletic.

It brings Gorman to the doorstep of the majors and potentially in play for a late season call-up if he continues his level of success in Triple-A. There is every reason to believe that he will. The 21-year-old is viewed by scouts as a potential 40+ home run hitter while having the infield versatility (can play third and potentially second base) that the Cardinals and many other teams covet.

Which is why Gorman’s name was mentioned in speculation surrounding a Scherzer trade, but it’s doubtful at best that the Cardinals would even consider it. After all, the former No. 19 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft recently hit .288/.354/.508 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 177 at-bats in Double-A and has a .268/.347/.489 slash line in three minor-league seasons.

The Cardinals are likely to exercise patience before eventually calling up Gorman and will have to resist the temptations as the major-league offense continues to sputter. But he should be a foundational piece for this team going forward and help form one of baseball’s elite infield trios with Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt.