Blaze Jordan has become one of the Cardinals’ most intriguing wild cards heading into a crucial offseason.
St. Louis used the 2025 trade deadline to make only the kind of moves that pushed bigger decisions down the line, moving rental relievers and leaving the larger roster questions for future president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. One of those smaller swaps has turned into the most interesting one: Steven Matz for Blaze Jordan.
From the Cardinals’ perspective, that deal is already hard to lose. Matz gave Boston a useful stretch, posting a 2.08 ERA that was undercut by a 4.84 FIP across 21 relief appearances, then departed in free agency for a division rival, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Since St. Louis was out of the race in 2025 and was not likely to bring back the left-hander, getting any meaningful return was a solid move by former general manager John Mozeliak.
Jordan is the real storyline. He crushed Triple-A pitching this season, batting .313/.373/.548 with a 138 wRC+, and that production earned him a promotion. His first taste of the majors started with a bang, including a 4-for-8 performance over his first two big-league games.
But the hot start didn’t last. After that opening week, Jordan settled in as a below-average hitter, finishing with a .617 OPS and a 68 wRC+.
Then a high ankle sprain at the end of August cut his season short. That leaves the Cardinals in an awkward spot: it’s still unclear what kind of role, if any, they see for him in 2027 and beyond.
The uncertainty matters because third base was a revolving door for St. Louis this season.
Six different players started at least five games there, and most of the innings went to Jordan and Nolan Gorman. Neither one did enough to claim the job outright.
The front office is open to short-term stopgaps while waiting on top prospect Jesús Báez, who came over in the 2025 deadline haul as well. Even then, Báez is far from a sure thing as a 21-year-old in Double-A. So if the Cardinals can get real stability from someone at third next season, it would do plenty to improve the outlook around the position.
Jordan at least gives them a case worth considering. In limited time, he graded as an above-average defender at first base with +2 Fielding Run Value and at third with +2 Defensive Runs Saved, a notable step forward for a player long viewed mostly for his bat in the minors.
The underlying hitting indicators were encouraging, too. His contact quality stood out, with a 45% hard-hit rate, 10.1% barrel rate, and 86.5% in-zone contact rate, and his expected numbers outpaced what he actually produced.
That’s enough to make him more than just a name in the mix. The Cardinals can’t head into Opening Day 2027 treating Jordan as the only answer at third base, but with more reps against big-league pitching, he has a chance to become more than a temporary bridge.
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