Cardinals send fan favorite Lars Nootbaar to pair up with his best friend on NL Contender

The St. Louis Cardinals are trading fan-favorite outfielder Lars Nootbaar to the Arizona Diamondbacks, per Jorge Castillo. 

Lars Nootbaar ends his Cardinals tenure in a move to the Diamondbacks

In return, the Cardinals received three prospects, including right-handed starter Daniel Eagen and left-handed reliever Sando Santana. The third player has yet to be reported.

Nootbaar, 28, has been electric in St. Louis since his debut season. The Redbirds’ high-flying corner outfielder is a serviceable fielder, solid bat, and an elite clubhouse presence. 

Between his many celebrations, infectious personality, and World Baseball Classic fame, Nootbaar carved out a nice career for himself in St. Louis. 

This season, the left-handed slugger is slashing .234/.333/.354. Good for an OPS of .688 and an OPS+ of 96. 

When Nootbaar remains on the field, he can transform a lineup. His bat-eye is unquestionable, and his pull-side power is extremely underrated. 

Furthermore, his presence in St. Louis invoked plenty of good times. Early in his career, when he robbed then-Mets’ slugger Pete Alonso of a go-ahead homer at Citi Field, Cardinals fans knew they had a good one. 

Nootbaar has only been alienated due to health concerns and the rapid rise of a slew of outfield prospects. This includes Joshua Baez, Chase Davis, and the newly acquired Josiah Ragsdale and Alexander Frias. 

St. Louis made itself clear earlier this season: there would be no shortcuts. Although Nootbaar had one year of team control remaining, the idea of giving a younger, more controllable asset runway down the stretch is motivation enough for him to be moved. 

Cardinals’ fans have every right to be upset. Nootbaar is a franchise personality, even though his skill set lagged a bit. At every turn, there were smiles, great catches, and fun social media content. That’s an underrated brand of baseball that the Redbirds need to get back to playing. 

When Noot is right, he hammers high heaters, has sneaky slug, and provides an elite presence in the lower third of a lineup. He's good enough to sneak up to the five/six hole, but serves better in a more relaxed role. 

Making this trade frees up a spot on the roster for the aforementioned breakout star Baez, and gives the Cardinals a much clearer direction. Nootbaar was never an extension candidate. Whether it be injury history or a lack of on-field production, there wasn’t much to buy into. 

It would’ve been nice to send him off on a higher note, but sometimes, you’ve got to bite the bullet. 

Chaim Bloom has had a masterful deadline so far, regardless of the return on Noot, fans should be ecstatic

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