5 Cardinals most at risk of being traded this offseason

#3 - Nolan Gorman

If the Cardinals are going to shake up their offense for 2025 and add any pieces of value to this group, they are going to have to be willing to part with some promising talent to make that happen. Nolan Gorman's value has certainly dipped since last year, but he is still a piece that could help them swing a deal if they find the right suiter.

Giving up Gorman and that power is a risky game, to say the least, but Gorman has real issues right now with his swing that could hinder him from truly tapping into that. If Gorman had qualified for leaderboards this year, he would have finished the year with the worst K% in MLB history outside of the 2020 pandemic-shortened season. Gorman is always going to be a guy who battles with strikeouts, but he looked completely lost this year.

Even so, Gorman still managed to mash 19 home runs in just 107 games, so it is easy to see how he can become a 40-home-run guy in his prime if he figures out his woes at the plate. The question St. Louis must answer this offseason is whether or not they want to try and fix him, or if they can use him in a deal to bring back real value.

They do not have to trade Gorman. He is not in a Tyler O'Neill or Dylan Carlson situation where he has zero value and is hurting the team too much. They can afford to bring him back next year and see what happens at the plate, but I still believe he carries enough value to make a deal if one presents itself.

I do think figuring out how Gorman fits on the roster next year is trickier than before. Brendan Donovan seems like the club's second baseman next year with Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, and one of Michael Siani or Victor Scott II in the outfield. Gorman can DH a lot, but we also know that spot will be frequently used to rotate players like Willson Contreras as well.

Maybe a club like the Athletics would take Gorman as a part of a package for Brent Rooker? Would the White Sox be interested in him for a buy-low candidate like Luis Robert? Does Seattle finally shop their young arms for pitching? I could see a variety of paths this offseason where St. Louis swings a deal using Gorman to get it done.