Cardinals Takes Are Out Of Hand, Especially For Lars Nootbaar

The St. Louis Cardinals should avoid this sort of idea...

Sep 12, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (21) strikes out against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

There is no doubt that the St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of decisions that they are going to need to make, especially when it comes to the trade market.

Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray are the top two guys to watch out for, but they aren't the only ones. Realistically, there aren't many guys on the roster who likely won't get roped into some sort of trade speculation. Throughout the offseason so far, every big-name veteran on the team has been speculated to other teams at some point. Some of the ideas make sense, some not so much. One guy who was already getting some trade buzz, but could see that cool now is outfielder Lars Nootbaar.

Nootbaar just recently turned 28 years old and won't be a free agent until 2028. He's the type of player that if he were available, would surely have a market. But, it was announced that he underwent surgery to address Haglund’s deformities in his heels. It's too early to know if that will impact him in 2026. It's a quiet time in the offseason for the Cardinals and the Nootbaar news picked up some steam, even with some wild takes. For example, Randy Karraker of STL Sports Central put out the idea of non-tendering Nootbaar.

There's no reason to non-tender Lars Nootbaar

Sep 19, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) hits a one run single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

It's a quiet time in the offseason for St. Louis, but that does seem to be taking it a step too far. Nootbaar is 28 years old and is under team control.

Even if he were to begin the season on the Injured List -- which it's still too early to determine because the team hasn't discussed the severity of the surgery -- he's the type of player that could either still help the team at some point in 2026, or be someone worth trading at a different time if they don't this offseason. He just turned 28 years old in September.

Nootbaar has dealt with injuries throughout his career to this point, but he actually played in the most games of his career yet with 135 in 2025. He chipped in 13 homers and 48 RBIs over that span. We're at a point in the offseason in which every little thing gets blown out of proportion. The idea of non-tendering Nootbaar isn't it. There's no reason to.

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