Cardinals Expected to Place Nolan Arenado on 10-Day Injured List

Arenado to IL, Gorman Returns as Cardinals Face Padres

St. Louis star out with shoulder injury; young third baseman back from rehab assignment

Less than 24 hours after the MLB trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals will be without one of their stars as they begin a crucial three-game set against the San Diego Padres. The Cardinals are expected to place Nolan Arenado on the 10-day injured list (shoulder) prior to Friday's game, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo.

"The #STLCards are placing Nolan Arenado (shoulder) on the IL prior to today’s game against San Diego. It’s the same nagging injury that caused him to miss games in early July," tweeted Woo. "More here, plus additional roster moves: [link]"

Arenado has been battling a right shoulder issue since early July. He sat out several games last month, hoping to rest his shoulder and avoid a stint on the injured list. While the 34-year-old gold glove third baseman continues to excel defensively, he struggled at the plate in July, slashing .175/.230/.211 with two extra-base hits and two RBIs.

A career .282 hitter, Arenado is hitting a mere .235 this season, with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs. His last home run came on June 21 against the Cincinnati Reds. This would mark only his third trip to the injured list during his 13-year career, the last coming in 2023.

Gorman Steps Up as Arenado Goes Down

In a corresponding move, Nolan Gorman (back) is coming off the 10-day injured list and is expected to see a majority of the starts at third base. The 27-year old began a rehab assignment on Tuesday and has gone 3-for-13 with a double and home run during his three games with Double-A Springfield.

On the season, Gorman is slashing .219/.310/.408 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 66 games. After an impressive June in which he hit .256 with six home runs and 16 RBIs, Gorman cooled off last month, hitting .214 with two home runs in nine games.

The Cardinals currently sit five and a half games behind the Padres for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.