Bench coach Daniel Descalso, stopwatch in hand, stood a few strides away from Nolan Gorman as he took ground balls from coach Stubby Clapp recently and tried to reacquaint himself with the timing of a position he spent most of his life playing.
Drafted as a third baseman, Gorman has never played as much third base in the majors as he has over the past month, and one of the areas where he’s struggled has been his throws, as they sailed or cut and sometimes put the first baseman’s glove in proximity of the runner.
On the far side of the field, he’s felt rushed vs. his time at second.
Hence, Descalso’s stopwatch.
“I’ve got more time than I think,†Gorman said.
Gorman could recite the time it takes an average runner to reach first base — 4.3 seconds — and that’s the time Descalso kept so that the infield could, as they explained, “reset his internal clock.â€
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“Adjusting to that throw and that small window that you have, because it’s never any good when you throw it up the line from third base,†Gorman said. “I think it’s just getting more comfortable with that throw and that’s really it.â€
Gorman and rookie Thomas Saggese received long looks at positions in the past month and have spent just as much time outside the game working with coaches on improving at those positions. The absences of Nolan Arenado (shoulder) and Brendan Donovan (toe) due to injury has opened up playing time at two infield positions for young players looking to cement themselves as part of the Cardinals’ future lineup.
Finding their positions is “a big part of where they fit,†manager Oli Marmol said.
And they’ve had some missteps.
The Cardinals’ overall team defense has sagged with the injuries to two Gold Glove Award winners. They continue to lead the majors with 34 outs above average and 27 runs prevented on defense. But in August, they were only a plus-1 outs above average, down from plus-6 in July, plus-12 in June and their plus-16 in April. They’ve slipped from 12th in defensive runs saved, at plus-22, to 15th at plus-18, per ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Info Solutions.
In his first 16 games at third base this past month, Gorman committed five errors in 35 chances. Saggese had a two-error game this past week. Afterward, he went through the same debriefing with Clapp that follows every game. They’ll review videos of plays and discuss what Saggese could have done differently, and they’ll look at plays that Saggese wasn’t involved in so that he can discuss what another position, another fielder did.
The Cardinals want Saggese to become reliable and comfortable at multiple positions — including shortstop and the outfield — to expand the ways he could contribute off the bench and in the lineup for 2026.
“We look at the video, and it’s like, ‘Hey, if you’re in this situation, go here,’†Saggese explained Wednesday. “‘Hey, next time you’re here, maybe take another step.’ We look at my timing.â€
Saggese has recently been working on his pre-set jump.
He is leaping to get his into a ready position when the hitter makes contact, and that leaves him a split-second behind making a move on the ball. He’s watched video and seen how he sometimes shifts his feet in the air to then land and push toward the ball. Clapp showed Saggese video of his leap side by side and timed up with shortstop Masyn Winn’s so that he can see just how far he’s behind.
“If I land too late, I’m missing out maybe by a hair,†Saggese said.
So he’s working on his internal timer, too.
Over the past week, Gorman has shown improvement at third. He had a series of plays Saturday in Cincinnati that helped Michael McGreevy to 12 ground outs in a win. In his past 10 games, he has no errors in 32 chances, with 23 assists.
Comfort comes with reps, he said.
“Keep your head on a swivel, just knowing the game situation,†Saggese added. “For me, it’s the comfort level. The comfort level is just a little different. That comes with talking pregame and postgame and we go over things. That comes with working.â€
1st-rounder Doyle set for debut
Power lefty Liam Doyle, the fifth overall pick in this summer’s MLB draft, will make his pro debut Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.
The Cardinals transferred Doyle to their Low-A Palm Beach roster on Wednesday and announced that he would pitch in the PB-Cardinals' game Saturday against Daytona at the Cardinals’ spring training ballpark. This is the final weekend of the regular season for Palm Beach, giving Doyle that opportunity to get into a competitive game before an offseason spent building toward his first full professional season.
Doyle will aim for around two innings.
The Friday-night ace for Tennessee this past spring, Doyle went 10-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 95 2/3 innings over 19 games (17 starts). The Cardinals put him on the Florida Complex League roster and had him throwing bullpen sessions and other outings over the past month to manage his workload and not heap additional innings onto his shoulder after the college season.
Tanner Franklin, the Cardinals’ third pick in the draft, has appeared in two games at two levels since the draft. Doyle’s teammate at Tennessee, Franklin has a 2.08 ERA and seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. His High-A Peoria debut came this past Saturday, with 2 1/3 innings.
Doyle, 21, was the Cardinals’ highest pick in the draft since 1998, and he signed for a club record $7.25 million bonus. He touches 101 mph with his fastball, and some evaluators expect him to rise just as fast through the minors.
Quick game, small crowd
The Cardinals’ 2-1 victory Tuesday night at Busch Stadium was the swiftest game at the ballpark since its first season in 2006. The Cardinals flipped the game with Ivan Herrera’s two-run homer and finished the win against the Athletics in one hour, 55 minutes.
That is the second-shortest game of the season, behind the 1:49 game May 17 in Kansas City.
The next-quickest game at Busch III came on Sept. 1, 2006, when the Cardinals defeated the Pirates, 3-1. Chris Carpenter threw a complete game that night to outduel future Cardinal lefty Zach Duke on that Friday night in St. Louis as a World Series-bound team started to find its footing (and health), a tickets-sold attendance of 42,091 gathered at the brand-new downtown ballpark.
Tuesday’s game had a tickets-sold attendance of 17,002.
That is the smallest in Busch III history in a nonpandemic year.
Contreras’ appeal and more
Willson Contreras is nearing the window during which the Cardinals expect to hear from Major League Baseball on his appeal of a six-game suspension. While no specific date was given, between seven to 10 days after the appeal was presented as most likely.
- Lefty John King was able to be with his wife, Jillian, for the birth of their first child, a son, on Tuesday. King (lower back) is on the injured list, and he paused his rehab for a few days to be with his family.
- Alec Burleson (wrist inflammation) was encouraged by how his right wrist felt after taking swings Wednesday in the batting cage. He’ll continue to increase his baseball activities with an eye on returning when the 10-day mandatory stay on the injured list is up during next week’s road trip.
- Arenado (shoulder) returned to St. Louis on Wednesday and will meet with team medical officials Thursday to go through a battery of tests and determine his steps toward a rehab assignment. Arenado is expected to participate in pregame activities Friday with his teammates.
- Matt Svanson received votes for the National League’s reliever of the month for August. The right-handed rookie went 2-0 with a 0.51 ERA in 11 relief appearances and struck out 24 in 17 2/3 innings. He allowed only 16 baserunners. Atlanta’s Raisel Iglesias won, going 10 for 10 in save opportunities.
