The St. Louis Cardinals optioned infielder Nolan Gorman to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday and recalled infielder Jose Fermin from Memphis in a corresponding move. The last straw for the Cardinals came on Tuesday night, when Gorman went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The 24-year-old left-handed-hitting infielder has clubbed 19 home runs in 107 games on the year, but he's also hitting just .203 (74-for-365) and has fanned a career-high 151 times and walked only 34 times in 402 plate appearances. His OPS sat at an impressive .805 last year, but it has dipped to .671 in 2024. Gorman will most likely return when rosters expand in September, but for now, he'll head to the farm to work on making more contact at the plate. Brendan Donovan is starting at second on Wednesday and batting cleanup against Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Tobias Myers, and he should see most of the starts at the keystone now.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman and outfielder Jordan Walker are absent from the starting lineup on Wednesday against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park as they try to avoid a sweep. Gorman will get a rest after starting in each of the last six games against right-handed pitching. Brendan Donovan will start at the keystone and bat fifth against Red right-hander Emilio Pagan. Walker started against a lefty on Monday after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis, but he's now been on the bench for two straight games against righties. Tommy Pham is starting in left field and batting eighth, while Lars Nootbaar is in right field and is hitting seventh versus Pagan. The 22-year-old Walker, once a top prospect for the Cardinals, will likely be limited to the short side of a platoon in St. Louis now that he's back in the big leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar and second baseman Nolan Gorman are not in the team's lineup on Monday against the New York Mets. The Mets will be sending left-hander Sean Manaea to the mound to start Monday's makeup game, so the left-hitting Nootbaar will take a seat on the bench. The 26-year-old has struggled to put up consistent numbers in 2024, as he is hitting just .234 with seven home runs, 10 doubles, and 23 RBI across 62 games this season. As a result, he isn't necessarily an add in most 12-plus team leagues. Tommy Pham, Alec Burleson, and Victor Scott II will occupy the three outfield spots in Monday's makeup game.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman will take a seat on Friday afternoon against right-handed pitcher Javier Assad. This is now the second time in the past nine games that Gorman has sat against a right-hander. He usually retreats to the bench when facing a southpaw, but this now suggests that the 24-year-old may strictly be a bench bat going forward. As a result, Brendan Donovan will cover the keystone and bat in the eight-hole. Since June 1, Gorman has struggled to find consistency as he sits with an underwhelming .189/.246/.384 and a 12:73 BB:K ratio. Fantasy managers could feel comfortable cutting ties with Gorman in shallow leagues, given the dip in playing time. Donovan is worth a look in DFS this afternoon as he faces Cubs starter Javier Assad who has carried a high 1.88 WHIP across his past four starts.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman will get a day of rest on Friday for the start of a series in D.C. against the hosting Washington Nationals with a left-hander on the mound. Brendan Donovan will instead start at second and bat sixth, while Dylan Carlson will play right field and bat seventh against Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin. It will be the second straight day that Gorman has started on the bench after St. Louis faced a southpaw on Thursday as well. The 24-year-old should be rostered in all leagues for his power (17 home runs) and run production (41 RBI), but he's hitting just .189 (52-for-275) on the season in 2024. He's been even worse against lefties, going 14-for-80 (.175) with four of his 17 home runs and 33 strikeouts.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman continued to play long ball in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Pirates. Gorman went 2-for-4 with a single, a grand slam, and two strikeouts. The 24-year-old guided a fourth-inning Mitch Keller off-speed pitch to the opposite field into the left-center seats to put the Cardinals up by six. The power has been there, but Gorman's average has suffered, as he has slashed .192/.271/.410 with 17 HR, 33 runs scored, 41 RBI, and six stolen bases in 303 plate appearances. His 36.6% strikeout rate hurts his value in points leagues, and fantasy managers in roto leagues will have to concede that he will hurt their batting averages in exchange for his power counting stats.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman remained scorching hot in Tuesday's loss versus the Houston Astros. Gorman went 2-for-5 on the evening with a solo home run. Gorman struggled mightily to open the season, but he has pulled a 180 over the last month by going 23-for-73 with 10 homeruns and 19 RBI. For the season, he is hitting .235 with 14 homers and 31 RBI. It's hard to move on from Gorman with the way he is hitting, but his trade value is at an all time high and it is unlikely that he will keep this pace throughout the season which makes him a great sell-high candidate.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman/third baseman Nolan Gorman continued his power surge when he went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's victory versus the rival Cincinnati Reds. Gorman has been having a rough season for the Cardinals, but has picked it up lately and now has five of his nine homers in the month of May. Despite having nine homers, Gorman has hit a unimpressive .214 with 64 strikeouts in 159 at-bats. Gorman was once a highly touted prospect, but outside of his 50 career homers has been a minor disappointment with a career .229 batting average. The 24-year-old has worked his way into a platoon role and doesn't hold much value outside of the deepest of leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn and second baseman Nolan Gorman are both getting a breather on Sunday against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Winn will take a seat while currently riding an eight-game hitting streak that has seen him raise his season slash line to a strong. 281/.340/.383 with a homer, 11 RBI, seven stolen bases and 13 runs scored in his first year as the full-time starter at shortstop. Brandon Crawford will play the 6 and bat sixth against Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta. Gorman has homers in each of his last two games but is still hitting only .201 (28-for-139) on the year with seven homers, 18 RBI and 55 strikeouts in 157 plate appearances in 2024. Brendan Donovan is starting at second on Sunday and is hitting sixth. Alec Burleson is in left field and hitting fifth, while Matt Carpenter is the designated hitter while batting leadoff against Pivetta.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Brendan Donovan and second baseman Nolan Gorman are both out of the lineup on Friday with the team facing Milwaukee Brewers rookie left-hander Robert Gasser, who is making his major-league debut. Rookie Michael Siani is starting in center field and is batting ninth, while Jose Fermin is at second base and hitting leadoff for the Cardinals on Friday night. Donovan has struggled so far this year, hitting .217 (31-for-143) with four homers and 19 RBI. Gorman has been even worse, slashing .172/.256/.319 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 116 at-bats. Fermin will be a deep DFS sleeper on Friday night out of the leadoff spot. The 25-year-old Dominican has three hits in only 11 at-bats in eight games this year after making his MLB debut in 2023.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman played the hero in Monday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Gorman was called upon to pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied 3-3, no outs, and a runner on first. The 23-year-old crushed the first pitch he saw deep into the right-field seats to end the game. Fantasy managers expected power from Gorman this season, but he has struggled with a .179/.238/.372 slash line, three HR, and 10 RBI in 84 plate appearances. Hopefully, this HR can help get him going.

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman continued his power surge in Tuesday's victory against the Philadelphia Phillies. The slugger went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and has now homered three times over the last three games. Gorman got off to a very slow start to open the season, but his power has shown up to remind managers as to why they picked him in the first place. Gorman is now hitting .222 with three homers and eight RBI. Power has never been a question with Gorman, but his career .232 batting average will hurt managers. The Cardinals also have Tommy Edman (wrist) on the 10-day injured list that could look to steal playing time from Gorman when he eventually returns. For now, playing time should not be an issue for Gorman and managers should enjoy the hot-bat that he swinging at the moment.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman is back in the starting lineup Wednesday to take on San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove. Gorman got a breather on Tuesday in a 5-2 win over Yu Darvish and the Padres but will man the keystone out of the five-hole on Wednesday. The 23-year-old is off to a slow start as he's 4-for-23 (.217) with a double and a walk alongside 11 punchouts across 24 trips to the plate. He homered 27 times with seven stolen bases in 119 games last season, making him a key fantasy asset from the second-base position as ATC projects an identical 27 homers and seven steals in the 2024 campaign.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres. Gorman will take a seat after making five straight starts to open the season. The expectation is that he'll be back in the lineup following this rest day. In his absence, Brendan Donovan will bat leadoff and cover second base versus right-hander Yu Darvish. Fantasy managers might want to consider streaming the red-hot Donovan even in a tough matchup here.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman has been healthy in camp this spring training and hasn't had any issues with his balky back. The 23-year-old worked to improve his already elite bat-to-ball skills and radically changed his diet this offseason to eliminate any inflammation that had caused his back to stiffen up on him in the past. He dropped eight pounds and is no longer feeling pain in his back after it bothered him for years. The Cardinals are confident that good health could be the only thing keeping Gorman from a 40-homer season. He has enormous power and could break out in 2024 if he can stay healthy. Despite being limited to 119 games and 406 at-bats in 2023 due to back and hamstring issues, Gorman hit a team-best 27 home runs. He also ranked in the top 3% in barrel rate and in the top 9% in hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the bat.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman hit his first home run of the spring season in a 7-6 Grapefruit League win over the Washington Nationals. It was a two-run shot, and the lefty added a third RBI when he walked with the bases loaded in the second inning. The former first-round draft pick is now 4-for-18 (.222) in the spring with three RBI, three runs scored, and a BB:K of 2:6. It's good to see the power stroke finally make an appearance as the second baseman is projected for 28 home runs this season, and if he can avoid the injured list in 2024 he should find himself firmly inside the top-15 at the position.

St. Louis Cardinals left-handed-hitting infielder Nolan Gorman said he has been working with a nutrition program that has increased his flexibility and decreased his back inflammation. Gorman has battled back pain since a 2020 weight-lifting injury but wants to adhere to the program and play more games in 2024. The 23-year-old also finished the 2023 season on the injured list due to a hamstring, so hopefully better nutrition will keep him on the field more this year. There's a lot to like about Gorman heading into the 2024 season after he hit .236/.328/.478 with an .805 OPS, 27 home runs, 76 RBI, seven stolen bases and 59 runs scored in 406 at-bats in just his second MLB season. He still swings and misses a lot, but he projects as a lineup regular and could see more at-bats as a designated hitter, which should keep him healthier.

The St. Louis Cardinals placed infielder Nolan Gorman (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with a right-hamstring strain and selected the contract of infielder Juniel Querecuto from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. Gorman's injury occurred on Tuesday as he attempted to beat out an infield single, and now he'll be forced to miss at least the next 10 days. The 23-year-old has had trouble staying on the field for long periods of time in his second major-league season in 2023, but he's supplied his fantasy managers with plenty of power when he's played, slugging 27 home runs and driving in 76 while hitting .236 (96-for-406) in 119 games. Until Gorman returns, Tommy Edman figures to see most of the playing time at second base in St. Louis, although Richie Palacios is starting at the keystone on Wednesday.

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman (hamstring) was pulled from Tuesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles with right-hamstring tightness. Gorman has had his issues staying on the field regularly in his second major-league season and has also dealt with back problems. When healthy, though, he's been relevant in all fantasy leagues with a .235/.326/.477 slash line, .803 OPS, 27 home runs, 17 doubles, 76 RBI, seven stolen bases and 59 runs scored in 463 plate appearances and 118 games. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now, but be aware that this could turn into a stint on the injured list. Before leaving the contest, he went 0-for-1. If Gorman is forced to miss extended time with this injury, Tommy Edman would see the majority of playing time at the keystone.

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman was seeing the ball well in Tuesday's 10-6 win over the Atlanta Braves. Gorman went 2-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI, two runs scored and three strikeouts. The two-homer performance was nice to see from Gorman, who hadn't homered in a game since Aug. 4. The 23-year-old left-handed hitter has struggled at the plate since returning from a stint on the injured list due to a back injury, going 4-for-30 (.133) with two homers, six RBI, 17 strikeouts and two runs scored in nine games (eight starts) since returning on Aug. 25. Hopefully, his multi-homer game on Tuesday will get him going again so that he can finish out 2023 strong. Gorman already has set a new career-high with 26 long balls and 73 RBI in 113 games.