This Cardinal player could be a surprise trade candidate this offseason

The St. Louis Cardinals will be looking to offload pricey veterans as they transition to a younger roster these next few years. Players like Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Ryan Helsley, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, and Miles Mikolas have all been mentioned as potential trade candidates this offseason.

However, the organization could seek to offload young players with team control to fill needs in other areas. One such player who could see a change of scenery in the next couple of months would be Lars Nootbaar.

Nootbaar, a career .246/.348/.425 hitter, finished 2024 with a .244/.342/.417 slash line to go along with 12 home runs, 45 runs batted in, and seven stolen bases. He had a .280 batting average and a .896 OPS over his last 39 games in 2024.

The story of Nootbaar's career has been unrecognized potential that has been hampered by injuries. He hasn't played more than 117 games in a season, and he's only eclipsed the 500 plate appearance mark once -- 2023 when he had 503 plate appearances. The times in which Nootbaar has been on the field have been quite successful. He has a career 115 OPS+ which means he's 15% better than the average MLB hitter.

Defensively, Nootbaar is able to play all three outfield positions with relative competence. According to outs above average, Nootbaar has been a neutral defender in right field, a +3 defender in left, and a +1 defender in center field throughout his career. His arm strength was in the 75th percentile in baseball last year. Noot is also under club control through 2027.

Put all of that together, and you have a strong, albeit unpopular, trade candidate.

For years, the Cardinals have held onto players for too long only to see their value be sapped. Dylan Carlson and Tyler O'Neill come to mind most recently. Rarely has John Mozeliak traded a player at peak value (Richie Palacios, for example). Nootbaar could be a chance for Mo to redeem himself.

Nootbaar's strong showing down the stretch paired with his defensive viability and awesome underlying metrics make his trade value quite high right now. He proved relative health last year, but more importantly, he proved how good he could be when fully healthy. If Nootbaar isn't traded during the offseason, he could be a nice deadline acquisition for a contending team.

Several teams could use a left-handed balanced-hitting outfielder with plus defense, but the Kansas City Royals come to mind quickly. They are in need of a leadoff hitter who can play the outfield, and Noot fits the bill.

The Tampa Bay Rays could also use Nootbaar's services, and they have ample starting pitching form that they could trade.

The Cleveland Guardians were among the worst teams against right-handed pitchers last year, and they could use an outfielder, too.

After trading Juan Soto, the San Diego Padres could be looking for a left fielder to also replace Jurickson Profar.

If the Cardinals do decide to shop their international rising star, there won't be a shortage of interested teams. The Cardinals could look to add a controllable major-league starting pitcher -- think Alec Marsh or Jeffrey Springs in exchange for Lars Nootbaar. It would be tough to see Noot leave, but with so many other outfielders vying for playing time, he may be the odd man out.