The St. Louis Cardinals are a somewhat surprising contender in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. Sure, they have swung deals to land stars such as Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt over the past few years. But typically, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees would dominate headlines for a superstar like Soto. However, there are some people in the MLB world who believe the Cardinals are the favorites to land him. And according to beat writer Jeff Jones, there is one key player who could make a Soto-Cardinals deal come to fruition.

Jones wrote in an article for the Belleville News-Democrat that multiple sources have said Nolan Gorman could headline a return package for Soto. The Washington Nationals will accept nothing less than a premium trade package for Soto, so Gorman makes sense as the main piece.

Gorman was one of the Cardinals' top prospects entering the season. Since getting called to the big leagues, the infielder has labored at the plate. But his MLB struggles don't negate his potential. Gorman features defensive versatility as well. He played third base in the minor leagues but has played second in the big leagues. So the Nationals could move him around the infield.

Jones also mentioned that trading Gorman would be the preferred course of action for the Cardinals. No, they haven't given up on the young infielder. However, including Gorman in a deal would limit the amount of other top prospects needed for a trade. St. Louis may just need to add 1 other big name prospect instead of 2 or 3. And then they would build a package around Gorman and the other big name prospect.

No. 7 overall MLB prospect Jordan Walker is expected to be the Nationals primary focus. But Nolan Gorman appears to be the key piece in a potential Juan Soto trade.