Blaze Jordan is the Cardinals' great unknown heading into critical offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals' 2025 trade deadline was one defined by kicking the can down the road, as the team simply dealt away rental relievers while leaving the big-picture decision making on the table for future president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. However, one of those trades has emerged as a perplexing puzzle: The swap of Steven Matz for Blaze Jordan.

The good news? It's pretty much impossible for the Redbirds to lose that deal at this point. Matz was fine in Boston -- he recorded a 2.08 ERA that was betrayed by a 4.84 FIP in 21 appearances out of the bullpen -- before leaving in free agency for a division rival (the Tampa Bay Rays). Considering the Cardinals weren't in contention in 2025 and were unlikely to re-sign the southpaw, getting anything of note for him was good business by former general manager John Mozeliak.

The real question is what to make of Jordan. He was tremendous in Triple-A this year, hitting .313/.373/.548 (138 wRC+) which necessitated a call-up. His MLB career then got off to a scintillating start, including a 4-for-8 showing his first two career games.

Unfortunately, Jordan wasn't able to keep the momentum going -- following his first week in the big leagues, he was a well-below-average hitter, posting paltry OPS (.617) and wRC+ (68) marks. Then, a high ankle sprain at the end of August prematurely ended his season. As such, it's difficult to tell at this point what role, if any, the Cardinals envision for him in 2027 and beyond.

Blaze Jordan deserves a chance to stabilize third base for Cardinals after the position's tumultuous season

Third base proved to be a position of little continuity for the Redbirds this year, as six players started at least five games at the hot corner. Most of that playing time went to Jordan and Nolan Gorman, but neither did nearly enough to lock themselves in as the full-time starter.

We know Bloom and the front office are open to short-term additions in the hopes of bridging the gap to top prospect Jesús Báez (who was also acquired at the 2025 deadline), though even he's no sure thing as a 21-year-old in Double-A. It would really help the long-term outlook of the team if someone could emerge as a viable option at third base next year, which is where the conversation swings back around to Jordan.

For one thing, he was an above-average defender at both first (+2 Fielding Run Value) and third base (+2 Defensive Runs Saved) in limited action, making huge strides in that department after years with a bat-first reputation in the minor leagues. His expected stats were also noticeably better than his actual results, thanks in part to excellent contact metrics; those include a 45% hard-hit rate, 10.1% barrel rate, and 86.5% in-zone contact rate.

That's a profile worth buying into, even if the Cardinals can't simply enter Opening Day 2027 with Jordan as their lone option at third. With a little more exposure to big-league pitching, he could emerge as more than just a bridge to the next big thing.

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