Reacting to the Cardinals' top 7 trade candidates ranking from MLBTR

Nolan Gorman (#7 Cardinals trade candidate, #21 overall)

Like Donovan, I don't think Adams' take here was far-fetched, but I do think some of the context he provided did not actually prove why Nolan Gorman would be a legit trade candidate this offseason.

If some team in baseball viewed Gorman in such a light that the Cardinals could turn him into controllable pitching, I think there could be a conversation there. But with the direction the Cardinals are heading in and his regression last year, there is no reason to sell low here.

Gorman really broke out in 2023, posting a .236/.328/.478 slash line with 27 HR and 76 RBI in just 119 games played. His 118 wRC+ was impressive and would have been much higher if not for an ice-cold month at the plate in June. To this point in Gorman's professional career, he has been prone to those extreme valleys, but he is typically able to get out of that and hit at an elite level.

Except for 2024. Gorman basically had a season-long slump, slashing .203/.271/.400, good for an 87 wRC+. The power was still there for Gorman, but his 37.6 K% was historically bad and cannot continue if he is going to be a force in this league.

I highly doubt anyone is going to trade for Gorman and give up the value of a guy who could give 30+ home runs next year with an .800 OPS or higher. Gorman's ceiling is far too high as a hitter to sell low on, so even though Adams saw him as a change of scenery candidate, I just see very little chance of that.

I'm high on Saggese, but I don't think it makes sense to move Gorman at this moment to free up playing time for him. He also mentioned that Walker could shift back to third base, and there seems to be zero shot of that happening.

The whole point of the youth movement is to create opportunities for guys like Walker, Gorman, Donovan, Winn, Scott II, Burleson, Saggese, Herrera, and all the young pitchers. It's not too crowded to find time for all of their young players, and even if it was, selling low on Gorman now would be unwise.

For the most part, I think the list on MLBTR made a lot of sense, but as you can see, there are a variety of points that I disagreed with. It will be interesting to see how this offseason plays out. While no one can be sure what will happen with this Cardinals roster as of today, we do know there will be a lot of action on the trade market for them.