3 players the St. Louis Cardinals must consider trading, and 1 they absolutely can’t

Players the Cardinals need to consider trading: Nolan Gorman, utility

This one will need a lot more deliberation from the front office before they actually pull the trigger. The Cardinals need to ask, though, whether they’re using Nolan Gorman effectively, and if not, if they could get more value from liquidating his spot on the roster in the trade market.

The other question to ask is what they gain from moving Gorman in terms of lineup flexibility since he usually occupies the designated hitter spot in the offensive nine.

Gorman, not unlike previous years, is seeing most of his opportunities as DH and playing the field as needed. So far he’s only seen the defensive side of the game in seven contests.

But Gorman could be one of the most attractive pieces of trade bait that the Cardinals have. He’s more tangible than a prospect, yet young enough to envision a path where he gets even better than he is already (he exceeded rookie limits just last year). Plus, Gorman can be a bat at DH, or teams can use him as a second or third baseman. His fielding is about average, but an average fielder with a good bat is not the worst thing to have.

Gorman’s .981 OPS happens to be the highest in the National League right now as well…

For many of those same reasons, there’s a strong case to be made to keep Gorman. He’s providing offense to a team that surely will need it, and there is team control through 2029. Trading him has the potential to be one the Cardinals look back at and think they made a massive mistake for the rest of the decade.

Ultimately, expect the Cardinals to hold here even if there are attractive offers on the table. But it is something to, at the very least, consider.