The St. Louis Cardinals dropped the first game of their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has to shuffle his roster around injuries less than 48 hours into the second half of the season. St. Louis got Jordan Walker back from the injured list, but Nolan Gorman will take his place. A back injury landed him on the 10-day IL.

With Gorman joining Lars Nootbaar on Marmol's injured list, the Cardinals outfield is thin. However, Gorman's replacement at the designated hitter spot is Ivan Herrera, who has held his own well enough this season. Despite that, Walker's workload gets even heavier as he returns on Saturday night in Arizona.

According to The Athletic's Katie Woo, Thomas Saggese will join the major league roster. The move comes as St. Louis tries to regain the momentum they had during the first half of the season. As the Major League Baseball trade deadline approaches, all eyes are on the Cardinals' front office. If they continue to lose without Gorman, they could make more of the roster available.

While getting Walker back is big for the Cardinals, not having their everyday DH hurts. His consistency at the plate and his power have been a big part of St. Louis' offense in 2025. With him on the bench for at least a week and a half, Marmol needs to get more creative with his order. The Cardinals' pitching is good enough to keep them in games if they can manufacture enough runs.

The next stretch of St. Louis' season is arguably the most important part of their season. The Cardinals are on the brink of a wild card spot in the National League after Friday's loss. Beating the Diamondbacks this weekend could kick start another good stretch that could solidly put them into the conversation of World Series contenders.

Walker has a lot on his plate as he returns from injury. Unfortunately for him, Gorman will not be there to help him carry the load for the time being.

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