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The moment we learned that St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Lars Nootbaar had double heel surgery this offseason, his status to begin the 2026 season seemed murky at best.
Some doctors and projections would say the timetable for recovery is much faster these days, but there are plenty of examples of players who took a long time to return to the field following that procedure. While we still don't know when Nootbaar will return, the Cardinals did place him on the 60-day injured list to open up the season, meaning we won't see him through at least the month of May.
Cardinals officially placed Lars Nootbaar on the 60-day injured list on Wednesday
While we've known for some time now that Nootbaar would not begin the season on the Cardinals active roster, how long he would be out was a real question mark, and the idea of a 60-day injured list stint was being processed by the Cardinals'front office going into this week.
Logistically, this does allow the Cardinals to place top prospect JJ Wetherholt on the 40-man roster for Opening Day without having to designate a player for assignment. Nootbaar's designation can only be backdated to Opening Day, so we won't see the outfielder through, at minimum, the end of May.
Nootbaar is coming off the most games he's played in a season (135), but he still struggled with injuries and had his worst offensive performance of his big league career. When Nootbaar has been healthy in the past, he's been a dynamic bat for the Cardinals' lineup that posts close to 20% above league-average numbers. He would be an asset for the Cardinals' lineup this year if he's healthy, and he's also someone who would make a great trade chip for them.
The sooner Nootbaar can return, the better for the long-term future of the Cardinals, as I'm sure Chaim Bloom would love to cash in on his trade value at the trade deadline. But his injury timetable certainly complicates that, and now I wouldn't be surprised to see him last on the roster all year, and his fate to be determined in the offseason or during the 2027 season.