The St. Louis Cardinals remain active in MLB trade discussions and are clinging to postseason hope, and now, they’ve finally gotten a piece of good news on the injury front.
Second baseman Nolan Gorman, who has been sidelined since early July with lower back pain, will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on Tuesday. The team confirmed the update on Monday, offering some hope for his return to the lineup as the Cardinals try to stay in the NL Wild Card hunt.
Gorman’s injury has been a lingering concern for the organisation. This latest back issue marks a troubling pattern: it’s the same injury that landed him on the injured list in 2023, and according to manager Oliver Marmol, it’s become a yearly occurrence.
“I’ve had to answer that question every year he’s been with us,” Marmol told MLB.com’s Michael Reynolds earlier this month. “It flares up every year at some point, and it’s just part of it.”
At just 25 years old, Gorman has already been placed on the injured list four times in the past three seasons, and he’s never played more than 119 games in a single year. While he managed to stay healthy throughout the 2024 season, durability remains a big question mark moving forward.
Still, when Gorman is healthy, he’s a dangerous bat in the lineup. In 2023, he led the team in home runs and set career highs in multiple categories, including batting average (.236), on-base percentage (.328), slugging percentage (.478), and OPS (.805). He finished the year with 27 home runs and 76 RBIs.
In 2025, Gorman appeared in 66 games, hitting .219 with a .310 OBP, .431 SLG, and .719 OPS. He’s knocked 9 home runs and driven in 29 runs, not quite the production he showed in 2023, but still a valuable power bat when healthy.
The Cardinals will be watching his rehab closely, hoping he can return quickly and provide an offensive boost down the stretch. With the team still hovering on the fringe of the playoff race and trade deadline decisions looming, Gorman’s health and availability could play a key role in how St. Louis shapes its roster in the coming weeks.