Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals-Astros Interlinked In Shocking Trade Rumors

The Cardinals and Astros have recently been linked to a massive trade this season.
Zach Pressnell|
Jun 5, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jun 5, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) is congratulated by teammates after scoring against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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The St. Louis Cardinals are in one of the weirder spots in all of baseball this season. They didn't do much of anything during the offseason. Most of their moves involved letting some veterans walk away in free agency.

But St. Louis won a lot of games early in the season. Recently, they've cooled off quite a bit, but they're still expected to be big time contributors at the trade deadline. At the moment, it's looking like the Cardinals will be sellers rather than buyers, but things could change rather quickly.

FanSided's Drew Koch recently linked Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar to the Houston Astros in a massive trade ahead of the trade deadline this season.

"Fellow Cardinal Lars Nootbaar could also be on the move this summer if St. Louis decides to sell," Koch wrote. "With a 2025 salary of $2.95 million and team control through the 2027 season, Nootbaar won't come cheap, but wouldn't cost as much in terms of prospect capital as the aforementioned Donovan. For his career, Nootbaar has relatively even lefty-righty splits, but his power numbers tick up by about 50 points against right-handed pitching."

With JJ Wetherholt surging up the minor leagues, Brendan Donovan could shift to the outfield full time. With that in mind, Nootbaar becomes expendable for St. Louis.

Nootbaar isn't having a great season as he's hitting closer to .200 than .300. He's been a solid fielder for St. Louis this season, but it hasn't been anything spectacular.

The Astros could use the help in the outfield, especially if it comes as a controllable piece like Nootbaar. If the Cardinals can get a solid return, this idea makes a lot of sense.

More MLB: Cardinals Breakout Superstar Listed As Trade Target For Astros

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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