This week’s Mailbag gets into the Cardinals’ third base outlook, Jackson Chourio‘s ceiling and Cade Cavalli‘s breakout. (Note that questions are lightly edited for clarity and brevity.)
Let’s get into it!
Mark asks:
Third base hasn’t been a good position for the Cardinals this year. Options within the organization are limited, other than perhaps Jesus Baez moving there from shortstop, or even the thought of Rainiel Rodriguez moving there off the catcher position (I wish!). Who might be a good fit from outside the organization?
To your point, I wouldn’t get my hopes up on Rodriguez moving anytime soon! Baez does seem better suited to handle third base than shortstop in the long run, and that’s before even considering the dynamic middle infield pairing of Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt, both of whom are ahead of him on the shortstop depth chart. He’s also played just 44 games in Double-A, and while he’s already ripped an incredible 20 homers in that time, he’s walking at a 3% clip there as well, so there’s some room for growth in terms of his approach at the plate. I can see Baez as a viable third base option later in the 2027 season, but I doubt the Cards are just going to turn the position over to him on Opening Day 2027, just one month after his 22nd birthday and with little to no Triple-A experience.
At this point, it’s fair to expect Nolan Gorman to be non-tendered or flipped to another club in a change-of-scenery/buy-low deal. I’d be surprised if he gets another real look at the hot corner. Blaze Jordan hasn’t done much in his first 56 big league games. He could get an opportunity next spring — a big finish to 2026 would help — but it’s hard to just hand him the job and call it a day when he’s hitting .247/.277/.368 through nearly 200 MLB plate appearances.
Free agency isn’t going to present the Cardinals with much in the way of options. Assuming Bo Bichette forgoes his opt out, the top names on the market will be Jazz Chisholm Jr. (who prefers to play second base) and rebound candidates like Alec Bohm and Jonathan India. Utility types like Mauricio Dubón and old friend Edmundo Sosa will be available, but it’s hard to get too excited to turn third base over to anyone from that bunch.
All that said, there are still options for the Cardinals to pursue — they’re just more on the trade end of things than the open market. Let’s run through some potential trade partners.
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