Oliver Marmol and the Cardinals are seeking consistency from Lars Nootbaar

When St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Lars Nootbaar is healthy and playing well, he's a person you want in the lineup, every day. When he's not playing well, he's a player you wish nowhere near your lineup. Manager Oli Marmol and the Cardinals are still trying to figure out which version of Nootbaar they could get consistently.

Somehow, after parts of five seasons with the Cardinals, the team still doesn't know what it has in Nootbaar.

Manager Oliver Marmol and the Cardinals want to see if Lars Nootbaar can show consistency to finish the season

Nootbaar has had a wide range of injuries that have kept him on the sidelines for parts of all of his seasons with the club. The most recent injury to sideline him in July was a left costochondral sprain. This injury is where the rib bone meets the sternum, and can make it difficult to move or breathe. If anything, the team knows they have a player to keep an eye on due to injuries. But because of these injuries, it has been challenging to give Nootbaar the runway he needs to show just what he can offer the Cardinals daily.

During their recent series with the Tampa Bay Rays, Nootbaar was 2-for-11 with three walks and an RBI. But, over his last seven games, Nootbaar is hitting .379/.438/.448 with four runs, three RBIs, three walks, and four strikeouts. In Monday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was 0-for-5 again, with one strikeout.

Given the nature of his last injury, these numbers are ok, but would be mediocre at best for someone else.

When you look at his numbers over the course of his five years with the team, he's .244/.344/.416 with an OPS of .760. He has 80 doubles, eight triples, 58 home runs, 190 RBIs, 239 walks, and 28 stolen bases. He has 375 strikeouts over that time as well.

Nootbaar has made solid contributions to this team. He is the ultimate teammate and cheerleader. When he is on, he is so good. But when he is bad, he is terrible.

Understandably, Marmol and the organization want to see what exactly they have in Nootbaar. He has been a fan favorite for his personality. Those are cries of Noot when he comes to bat, after all. He has good vibes. But, after five seasons with the team, it's evident that we may already know what we have in Nootbaar.

Unless Nootbaar takes his runway opportunity and goes off for the last month of the season, the Cardinals likely have a very likable yet very mediocre ballplayer. The team may find they have a guy, Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals' incoming president of baseball operations, could flip for some MLB-ready talent for seasons to come. It's time to really examine this and make a decision to help the team for the future.