Another weekend of travel, this time to St. Louis for the Braves series, means an earlier than usual Sunday story. Before continuing, I wanted to shout out the fans who keep making it out. I’ve been here two days and both nights were fun, including last night in the Tarps Off section! Everyone feels welcomed (unless you are wearing the other team’s apparel) and the shtick isn’t overdone on me. Final shout to Jordan Walker for the nice toss!
The Cardinals have given us plenty to be annoyed at over the past week or so, but Wednesday’s team win at least paused those feelings for another 24 hours. Besides a winning result, Oli Marmol continued some lineup tweaks and moved Lars Nootbaar to center field for the fourth time since being activated from the injured list.
Grading as an above-average fielder in every season except for the last two, it is possible we have been selling Nootbaar’s defense in the outfield short thanks to his faulty heels. Since the surgery, Noot has been running faster and providing more value with the glove, doing so while also lengthening the lineup with his solid lefty bat. All told, Noot’s return was what the team needed, both on the field and in the clubhouse.
Lars Nootbaar and Joshua Baez can co-exist on this St. Louis Cardinals team
Since the start of last season, it appeared that Victor Scott II was the only sure outfielder to get everyday run, with Nootbaar continuously fighting injuries and Jordan Walker measuring as one of the worst players in all of baseball. While Noot was still on the shelf, Scott saw his leash run out quickly while Walker upped his game to All-Star caliber. Nathan Church stole the job from VSII and the Cardinals ran through a smattering of Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, and Bryan Torres in left field until Noot returned to full strength.
As Church’s bat settled into league-average territory, Oli Marmol saw this as an opportunity to try out a new setup in the outfield. Power bat Nelson Velazquez was promoted and when he played left field, Nootbaar swung over to center. On the surface, that outfield alignment would give Cardinals pitchers a heart attack whenever a ball is hit in the air, but new-heel Noot has been just fine up the middle until late-game defensive replacements allow him to shift back to the corner.
While it has only happened four times in his 28 games since returning, Noot has made every play hit his way in center field. He of course will not have the same range as defensive wizards Scott and Church, but making the routine play goes a long way. With Church and Noot both being lefty hitters, any flexibility in Noot’s game could give him the opportunity for more run as a better producing bat. “But Scott, why does it have to be Noot OR Church? ¿Por que no los dos?”
The payoff. Nootbaar’s ability to play center, even if it is just at the bare minimum level, makes him less likely to be traded but could still open a spot for a promotion of Joshua Baez. With this season that is not supposed to end in a postseason run, average defense will be just fine to get the team through 162 without having to go through a massive roster churn. I have been tying Baez and Nootbaar together for some time, but with Baez proving to be ready for a promotion and Noot keeping the team involved, there is no use of tearing it apart right now.
Holding onto Noot and using an option on Bryan Torres or testing the DFA wire with Velazquez or Fermin keeps Nathan Church on the active roster as a platoon option or defensive specialist. Church’s calling card has never been his power bat and even though he has left the yard eight times this year, a part-time role might help him maintain his effectiveness. A Baez promotion should only happen with everyday playing time and worst case scenario, Church and Baez could form a platoon to keep both youngsters involved.
Nootbaar would not have to play center field everyday and likely still just once a week in this scenario. Baez has been seeing semi-regular time up the middle so he is capable of handling innings in the grass. With Ivan Herrera sticking as a DH and catcher, there are only so many bat-only opportunities available and Marmol may opt to use that for a Nootbaar or other veteran rest day.
The biggest downside in holding onto Nootbaar past the trade deadline is that he becomes what JoJo Romero has turned in trade rumors. Last season, Romero seemed like a sought after trade piece after putting together a great late-inning season, but Bloom opted to hang onto the lefty for the beginning of the 2026 campaign. With JoJo ceding the closer role and seeing his overall stats take a step back, the return in a trade surrounding the reliever is much less than it would have been at this time last year.
The trade market for hitters is likely to be calmer than for pitching, creating another pro to seeing this season through with Nootbaar getting another shot to put it all together. We have heard the vibes in the clubhouse being a reason the front office has not wanted to shake up the roster in a major way and keeping Nootbaar would be another example of that. Of course, if the team continues to stick around in the thick of the Wild Card, trading a fan-favorite in Noot while in contention would be met with plenty of negative fanfare.
With under a month until the official trade deadline, I could be swayed either direction in the Lars Nootbaar trade conversations. As of Wednesday evening, I find myself open to the idea of keeping him around for the vibes, the offense, and the thought that more teams would be interested in him during the winter.
As of July 12, what would you do with Nootbaar? Is Joshua Baez directly tied to Noot or can there be some finagling around Nathan Church and others? Convince me either way and I’ll reply to the strongest argument to get a Cardinals card or giveaway of some sort.
Thanks as always!
