Chasing a playoff spot? Not hardly. Cardinals’ trying to stave off another losing season

The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t quite given up the ghost of chasing down a playoff spot, but with the division a dozen games away and the third wild card half that many, this week’s series of roster moves reveal a team straddling the line between urgency and panic.

Tuesday’s demotion of outfielder Jordan Walker to Triple-A Memphis was followed Wednesday by sending second baseman Nolan Gorman on the same route. Walker entered last season as the top prospect in all of baseball, and Gorman led the 2023 Cardinals in home runs. Now, both are back in the minors, and whether they return to the big leagues this season is an open question.

“Obviously it’s a game of production up here,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Tuesday in the wake of Walker’s demotion while foreshadowing Gorman’s. “At some point you’ve got to consistently produce, or we have to find someone who can. Ultimately, that’s what it comes down to.”

Walker’s demotion – and replacement on the active roster by slugging first baseman Luken Baker – was understandable if for no other reason than his recall defied the team’s historical logic in handling their important young players. Despite handling right-handed pitching better than lefties in his young career, the Cardinals believed Walker offered them greater production potential for last week’s series in Cincinnati and the two lefty starters on the docket.

Ultimately, Walker went 1-for-11 over four appearances (three starts) in his week back up, interrupting his hottest stretch of the season in the minors in service of a desperate chase for wins for a faltering big league team that was swept in the series for which he was recalled.

Gorman’s trip back to the minors was a necessity given his collapsing production and contact rates. In 98 at bats since the start of July, he hit only three home runs and delivered a calamitous 42 strikeouts, the last of which ended Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee with the bases loaded and the Cardinals down one.

Always a high strikeout hitter, Gorman’s pace this season has been historic in the worst possible way; his 37.6% strikeout rate is nearly a six point jump over last season, and would be the worst in Major League history for a qualified batter in a non-shortened season.

“When you look at where we are in our season and what’s best for him as well, it made sense for him to take at-bats in a less stressful environment where he can work on the things he needs to work on,” manager Oli Marmol said. “There are some real things he’s trying to get back to and get on track with. Doing that in Memphis lends itself best for that.”

Three weeks ago, the Cardinals were a team determined to add, and now, even more subtractions may well be on the horizon. Mozeliak made reference to an evolving roster during his press conference Tuesday, and while both Steven Matz and Riley O’Brien seem certain to return to the active roster before the season ends, some new additions could be shuffled out to make room.

With the elimination of the August waiver trade deadline, last season saw teams who made deadline additions simply pass those players through waivers in an attempt to both clear salary and allow players a better shot at a postseason opportunity. Deadline additions Shawn Armstrong and Tommy Pham are both free agents at the end of the season and would both fit the mold of veteran players who might be passed through, as does reliever Andrew Kittredge.

Of the three, Kittredge is the most likely to be back with the Cardinals next season, but there is a time element in play. Even without a second trade deadline, a player must be under contract with an organization on September 1 in order to be eligible for the postseason.

Given that the waiver period lasts three business days, that leaves the Cardinals needing to make a decision on those players by next Wednesday.

It’s possible that all three play out the string, but it’s hard to see much benefit to either the players or the Cardinals in allowing that to happen. For a team that seems certain to miss the playoffs, opening up innings and at bats for evaluation can be important. For a player entering free agency, contributing to a playoff roster can significantly add to potential future earnings. It also functions as a bit of a goodwill gesture, signifying that a team won’t force short-term players to go down with a sinking ship.

Whatever the changes that occur in the coming week, it’s clear that this August has not unfolded anywhere close to the way the Cardinals designed. Rather than chasing down a playoff spot and preparing for a return to what they believe is their rightful place in the pecking order, they’re simply fighting to stave off their first spin through consecutive losing seasons since 1959.

That Gorman and Walker aren’t a part of that struggle seems to be what’s best for their development and futures, but is a damaging reflection on the state of the organization and its player development system. If they aren’t contributing here and now, despite having done so in the past, it is incumbent and essential to get them pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it’s yet to be seen how far the Cardinals might fall.