His On-Field Play
Nootbaar is a player who can perform well on both sides of the ball. His offense is consistently above average (112 OPS+ for his career), and he has been able to log a positive Outs Above Average statistic since his induction in the major league. He has a strong arm and great range in the outfield.
Perhaps the biggest chip in Nootbaar's on-field favor would be his underlying metrics. When looking at his Baseball Savant page, there is a lot of red to see. His xwOBA, walk percentage, max exit velocity, whiff percentage, and chase rate are all in the 75th percentile or above. Only his outfield jump, hard hit percentage, K rate, and expected slugging are below average (though none are lower than the 45th percentile). It stands to reason that he will find some more power as he continues to grow offensively.
Additionally, Nootbaar is able to spread his hits around the field. While the shift is a thing of the past, having a hitter who can spray the ball anywhere still creates a challenge when the opposing team is positioning its players.
A slash line of .257/.356/.382 on a player who has 4.5 years of control left is not someone that should be traded. Nootbaar's on-field performance is much more valuable over the length of his control than the players that could be brought in after a trade.