The Cardinals pulled the plug on Nolan Gorman at third base Friday after the lefty slugger went just 1 for his last 20 with 11 strikeouts. Blaze Jordan, who has had a stellar season at Triple-A Memphis, will get the start on Friday in Minnesota for his MLB debut.
In something of a stunning change of opinion, the Cardinals promoted third baseman Blaze Jordan for his MLB debut and demoted struggling slugger Nolan Gorman to Triple-A Memphis on Friday afternoon.
Jordan, who was acquired last July from the Red Sox in a deal involving swingman Steven Matz, is in the Cardinals starting lineup – hitting eighth and playing third base – for Friday night’s game against the Twins in Minnesota.
Jordan, 23, spent the past six seasons in the Minor League splitting his time between first base and third base. This season, he started the season at first base, but he was shifted to third base where he made just two errors in 241 2/3 innings played at the hot corner.
Up until this week, several key decision-makers within the Cardinals organization did not view Jordan – a third-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Red Sox – as an MLB fit at third base because of concerns about his lack of range. Gorman’s struggles, combined with Jordan’s stellar season at the plate, apparently changed those thoughts.
In 57 games with Triple-A Memphis, Jordan has slashed .313/.373/.548/,921 with 19 doubles, a triple, 11 homers and 35 RBI. A low strikeout rate (12.6 percent) likely aided the Southaven, Miss., native’s case for his first promotion to the big leagues.
The Cardinals also have Jose Fermin and Bryan Torres available to play third base at times if Jordan struggles. JJ Wetherholt played third base, shortstop and second base in the Minor Leagues in 2025, but the club is extremely hesitant to move the standout rookie away from second base – where he has been one of MLB’s top performers defensively.
Dobbins and Gorman headed to Triple-A
Hunter Dobbins, who threw 88 pitches over 4 1/3 innings of work in Thursday’s loss to the Mets, was optioned to Triple-A and replaced by reliever Chris Roycroft.
Gorman, who took over the full-time third base role this season following the trading of Nolan Arenado to the D-Backs, has seen a promising start to the season undone by an avalanche of strikeouts of late. He has gone just 1 for 20 – a solo homer – with 11 strikeouts in June. That skid full of swings and misses pushed his strikeout rate to 36.8 percent – something the Cardinals clearly grew tired of lately.
For the season, Gorman has seven home runs, four doubles and 26 RBI. However, he has slashed just .194/.279/.318/.571 largely because of his 74 strikeouts and only 25 walks.
Gorman, a first-round draft choice in 2018 when the Cardinals made him the No. 19 overall pick, made his MLB debut in 2022, but struggled with swing-and-miss issues and finished that season in Triple-A. He showed tremendous potential in 2023 when he clubbed 27 strikeouts, but he ended that season on the Injured List because of a hamstring strain. He struck out 151 times in 2024 and 136 times in 2025, sabotaging his opportunities. He played an above average third base defensively this season, but more struggles at the plate eventually cost him his job again.
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