For a 2025 season that was billed throughout the winter as the ultimate path of discovery for Nolan Gorman’s MLB potential, we hadn’t seen much of the 24-year-old slugger through the early weeks of the campaign.
With Nolan Arenado remaining a Cardinal through the off-season trade rumors that swirled around his name, it meant manager Oliver Marmol would have one fewer lineup spot to devote toward other infielders on a given day this season. Gorman seemed to be the initial victim of the numbers game, seeing only a couple of starts in the first week of the season before a hamstring injury further removed him from everyday action.
Gorman recovered and was back to the active roster after a minimum stay on the injured list, but his rhythm at the plate suffered following the time off as he collected just one hit over his next 15 at-bats.
As scrutiny swirled again surrounding Gorman’s role amid the recent downturn in his production at the plate, Oliver Marmol told reporters before Tuesday’s game to expect the fabled runway for Gorman to be etched in reality this week.
#STLCards manager Oli Marmol said before the game that he and his staff have mapped out the parameters of their lineups for the next four games. He has plans of having Nolan Gorman in the lineup each of the next four games to give the lefty slugger a consistent stretch of games.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) April 22, 2025
Marmol’s pregame words to those assembled reporters in Atlanta, as shared on Twitter by MLB.com’s John Denton, were prescient regarding the way that Marmol would handle key spots for Gorman in Tuesday night's game.
With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning, Marmol stuck with Gorman in a left-on-left situation against Braves lefty reliever Dylan Lee. On the surface, that individual matchup in a key moment of a tie game may have seemed like one from which to shield the left-handed hitting Gorman, and with right-handed hitting Thomas Saggese available off the bench, some fans clamored to see an aggressive move for a pinch hitter.
But Marmol was playing the long game, in more ways than one.
The first way included understanding that Gorman’s spot in the order would come up again later that night—with the key spot in reference coming in only the sixth inning, you’d be taking the bat out of his hands for a later spot that might be advantageous for Gorman.
Plus, seeing him battle through these situations that aren’t as ideal from a matchup standpoint is a big emphasis for what this 2025 St. Louis Cardinals season is supposed to be about.
While Gorman didn’t come through in the sixth, he stayed in the game—which frankly wasn’t even a decision that Oliver Marmol likely spent any time considering, despite the clamoring from social media during the game—and ultimately delivered the key swing of a Cardinals win in the eighth.
After an impressive walk in which Willson Contreras battled the count from from 0-2 to 3-2 and was able to take his base after ball four, Gorman came through with a bases-clearing double to cement the Cardinals’ advantage.
The second way in which seeing Gorman through those situations on Tuesday night related back to playing the long game for the Cardinals manager circles back to that notion of runway.
“We have to keep our word there, right? We said that we would,” Marmol told reporters after Tuesday’s win in an exchange that was shown on the FanDuel Sports Network postgame show. “Even after the injury, him coming back and doesn’t look good for a week, that’s not runway.
“You have to allow him to go through some of the ups and downs. He’s going to get better, man. He’s working hard at it and we’re committed to seeing it through.”
So for eagle-eyed Cardinals fans who understand the concept of platoon splits, don’t be surprised when Oliver Marmol doesn't race to step in and rescue Gorman from meaningful moments any time soon, even when the on-paper matchup might suggest it.
Across an extended stretch of opportunity for the former first-round pick and once-regarded prospect, it’s time to see what it looks like for Nolan Gorman.