Cardinals Announce Nathan Church News With Return Inching Closer

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to have to make decisions in the outfield in the not-so-distant future.

May 4, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) catches a fly ball against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to have some outfield decisions to make in the not-so-distant future.

First and foremost, the Cardinals are expected to get outfielder Lars Nootbaar back into the mix on Friday when the club faces off against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. He's not the only outfielder nearing a return for St. Louis. On Tuesday, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol shared that Nathan Church is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Thursday, June 4.

"Cardinals OF Nathan Church (shoulder) is expected to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday," Roundtable Sports' John Denton wrote on X. "3B/1B Ramon Urias (right forearm tendon) is expected to begin his rehab assignment in Memphis by the weekend, Oli Marmol said."

The Cardinals Will Have An Outfield Decision Soon

May 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Nathan Church (27) hits a RBI double during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

This is great news for the organization, but it will raise questions for the club. When a position player begins a minor league rehab assignment, it begins a 20-day clock before they have to be activated to the big league club or optioned to the minors. With Nootbaar expected to come back on Friday, St. Louis will likely roll with a consistent outfield configuration of Jordan Walker in right field, Victor Scott II in center field and Nootbaar in left field. The club recently promoted Nelson Velázquez, who surely will be a bench bat. When Church comes back into the mix, then things could change.

The club could send Scott down if he's not able to turn things around offensively. Velázquez isn't as big a concern for the Cardinals right now. It would be a bit surprising if Church, Scott, and Nootbaar were all on the big league roster at the same time because there would be someone who doesn't get enough at-bats. Walker isn't losing time in right field. He's having an awesome season so far. Scott has been excellent defensively, but hasn't been able to get his bat going. Nootbaar is going to get consistent opportunities when he's healthy. Church was good on both sides of the ball before getting hurt.

The club is going to have to make some sort of outfield decision in the not-so-distant future. It's not imminent. The club will have 20 days from when Church begins his minor league rehab assignment. But, then, some sort of decision will have to be made. Plus, No. 3 prospect Joshua Báez is tearing it up down in the minors. At some point, the Cardinals are going to have to consider him as well.