51黑料

鈥淚 do think we鈥檙e going to try to find at-bats for Nolan Gorman as best we can,鈥� the president of baseball operations said.

When he said that, the club had already been discussing how it would.

The at-bats were about to be found.

Highly decorated third baseman Nolan Arenado went on the 10-day injured list Friday afternoon with a shoulder injury he鈥檚 spent the past month trying to play through. The decision to go on the IL and rest was made after a conversation between Arenado and manager Oliver Marmol in 51黑料 this past week, the manager said. Gorman completed his rehab assignment Thursday night with five at-bats and did so knowing he was headed to San Diego in time to start at third base Friday as the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Padres.

There is no timeline for Arenado鈥檚 return, no prescription other than rest and then whatever strengthening program is put in place.

鈥淭his is a guy who does not like coming out of games, does not like off days, definitely doesn鈥檛 want to be on the IL,鈥� Marmol said. 鈥淗e played through discomfort for quite some time now, and now it鈥檚 time for him to just get his body back where he鈥檚 full strength and able to move the way he wants to move. So, we sat down and talked about it and that鈥檚 how we鈥檙e moving forward.鈥�

Marmol was asked if Arenado could miss the remainder of the season.

鈥淚t鈥檚 too early to tell,鈥� he said twice.

The move to activate Gorman from the IL after missing time to recover from back soreness was the first of several additions Friday that replenishes a roster after the trade deadline. The Cardinals promoted three relievers to the majors: right-handers Ryan Fernandez, Roddery Munoz and Andre Granillo. Fernandez returns for the first time to the majors after opening the year in the bullpen and spending all of last season as a late-inning option. He was able to reconnect with the consistency of his fastball at Class AAA Memphis and had a 3.12 ERA to go with one of the best strikeout rates in the minors.

Lefty JoJo Romero, Kyle Leahy, Matt Svanson, Gordon Graceffo and Riley O鈥橞rien are all options to get an audition in the late innings of tight games. Romero has past experience as a closer, handling the role in 2023 after the Cardinals鈥� losing record prompted their previous sell-off at the trade deadline.

The Cardinals have openings galore in their late innings after trading closer Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets, setup man Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers, and versatile lefty Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox.

Marmol said the team initially will go with closer 鈥渂y committee鈥� to see what young arm thrives in the ninth and carries it through the remainder of the regular season.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of young guys who are trying to establish themselves up here,鈥� Marmol said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 a great opportunity for them. They鈥檙e going to be able to pitch in some leverage situations that otherwise they wouldn鈥檛 be able to. It will be good to see how they respond to it.鈥�

Arenado, 34, injured a finger on his right (throwing) hand during the Cardinals鈥� late-June visit to Cleveland. That caused him to miss four of the next six games, including two games of a sweep by the Pirates in Pittsburgh that spurred the Cardinals鈥� July tumble. In his return, the pain in the finger contributed to soreness in his right arm as he compensated for the hand pain to make throws from third base.

At the plate, his struggles increased.

Since the hand injury, he hit .167 with a .219 on-base percentage and a .200 slugging percentage over 64 plate appearances. He had two extra-base hits in that span, and he goes on the IL 25 games removed from his most recent home run. The Cardinals are 9-16 in those 25 games.

Arenado鈥檚 preference was to muscle through the injury to contribute while the Cardinals remained in the division or wild-card race. The team鈥檚 view of the standings shifted coming out of the All-Star break and promoted this week鈥檚 auctioning off of veteran relievers on expiring contracts and pivot to the future. The Cardinals explored trade talks with a few teams about Arenado, but the 10-time Gold Glove-winner has a no-trade clause, complete say in where he goes, and two years remaining on his contract with the team. The Cardinals agreed to a trade this past winter with Houston and Arenado vetoed it. The Cardinals have also declined overtures from other teams, knowing they did not fit Arenado鈥檚 preferred destinations.

In addition to reducing payroll, a goal of trading Arenado was to free up playing time at third base for former first-round pick Gorman.

Arenado鈥檚 return to the team for 2025 has placed Gorman in more of a complementary or part-time role. He was able to get starts at second, third, and sometimes designated hitter, though DH at-bats dwindled with Ivan Herrera moving from catcher to that position for most games. Marmol has often described Gorman as a hitter who gets better with more repetitions and the rhythm that comes from consistent playing time.

The left-handed-hitting infielder showed an uptick in performance through sporadic playing time with a .505 slugging percentage from June 3 through going on the IL in mid-July. In those 33 games, Gorman had a .841 OPS, 20 RBIs, 11 extra-base hits, and 40 times on base to offset 39 strikeouts in 119 plate appearances. During his three-game rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield, Gorman went 3 for 13 with a home run, a double and two RBIs.

To use the Cardinals鈥� lingo of the year: His 鈥渞unway鈥� has arrived.

鈥淗e鈥檒l get a decent amount of time at third and more consistent at-bats,鈥� Marmol said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be able to take a better look at that.鈥�