Prior to today’s game, the Cardinals activated catcher Ivan Herrera from the 10-day injured list. The corresponding move saw another regular hit the 10-day IL, as outfielder Lars Nootbaar has been sidelined by what the Cards described as a left costochondral sprain.
Herrera hasn’t played since June 19 due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain, though the fact that he was able to return from a more severe strain within a month’s time is a positive sign. This was the second IL stint of the year for Herrera, who missed a month due to left knee inflammation in April and early May. As a result, Herrera’s 2025 campaign has been limited to 43 games, counting his appearance as the designated hitter in today’s contest with the Braves.
Despite the injuries, Herrera has swung a hot bat when he has been able to play, as he hit .320/.392/.533 with eight homers over his first 171 trips to the plate. In order to keep Herrera healthy, the Cardinals aren’t expected to use him much as a catcher over the remainder of the year, so Herrera will mostly act as a DH.
In an interesting wrinkle, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote that the Cards also had Herrera go through some workouts as an outfielder, so he could potentially contribute in the field without entirely locking up the DH spot. A career catcher, Herrera has never played in the outfield as a professional, as his only other positional experience consists of a few games as a first baseman during winter ball action.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol downplayed the idea of Herrera getting any significant time as an outfielder, simply saying “we’re going to see what that looks like. We know catching is a stressor. We want to do whatever allows him to stay healthy all the way through, and if we feel at any point that it’s strictly DH, then it’s well worth it to keep his bat in the lineup and give him days off when we need the flexibility of moving someone into that spot.”
Speaking of outfielders, Nootbaar will get a full IL stint to heal up after dealing with a side problem for the last few days. The costochondral joints connect the ribs to costal cartilage, so while the situation certainly isn’t pleasant for Nootbaar, he has at least avoided an oblique strain that might’ve led to a much longer absence. Nootbaar missed about seven weeks of the 2024 season due to a pair of IL stints related to an oblique strain and a rib contusion.
Nootbaar is hitting .227/.332/.381 with 12 homers over 386 plate appearances this year, translating to a 104 wRC+ that is just above the league average. The left-handed hitting Nootbaar has played almost every day for St. Louis, playing mostly left field while chipping in at the other two outfield positions. After injuries hampered him in both 2023 and 2024, it was a good sign that Nootbaar had at least been able to stay on the field until now, and the hope is that he won’t miss too much more time to get back to playing condition. Brendan Donovan, Jose Fermin, or Garrett Hampson figure to be used in left field while Nootbaar is out.