It didn’t take long for Lars Nootbaar to make an immediate impact in the middle of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup. In his first game of the 2024 season, Nootbaar batted sixth and hit a two-run home run in the third inning en route to a 9-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. The outfielder fractured two ribs in March and missed the first two weeks of the season as a result, but his 425-foot dinger helped stoke an offensive explosion for a Cardinals team desperate for some power.
Lars Nootbaar hits one far! pic.twitter.com/59nTQriGqS
— MLB (@MLB) April 13, 2024
Lars Nootbaar Makes Immediate Impact After IL Stint
Nootbaar is one of three outfielders for the Cardinals who started the season on the IL. Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman are both rehabbing injuries, forcing the Cardinals to start the season with an outfield they had not planned on. Nootbaar posted a career-best .263 average in 2023 while slugging .418 across 117 games. He figures to be an everyday starter for the team going forward.
Noot tells @EmilyStephenSTL he had FOMO starting the season on the IL: “Being away from the guys is the toughest part and not being able to be there in the middle of everything. …During spring I was having so much fun with them that that’s kind of what I was missing.” #STLCards pic.twitter.com/VTXWQ3LodR
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) April 13, 2024
The LA native told Bally Sports Midwest it was tough to miss the first two weeks of the season, particularly as the Cardinals opened against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, but being away from the team was the hardest part.
“Being away from the guys is the toughest part,” Nootbaar said before making his first start of the season against the Diamondbacks. “Not being able to be there in the middle of everything, mixing with everybody, that’s the toughest part for me. So being able to come back here is what I’m really looking forward to.”
How Nootbaar Fits In
Nootbaar gives manager Oliver Marmol an extra lefty bat to play with in the lineup. The outfielder should fit in higher in the lineup or in the middle, depending on whether the team is facing a righty or lefty pitcher. Nootbaar complements an already diverse lineup of righty, lefty, and switch-hitting bats.
The left fielder should also help the Cardinals defensively. In 2023, Nootbaar posted a career-best three outs above average, good for 36th out of 133 qualifying outfielders last year.
“It’s definitely a hit, this is a guy we’re counting on,” Marmol said in March after Nootbaar’s injury. “It’s a little bit of a setback in terms of how we’re going to look at spring.”
Cardinals Other Outfield Injury Updates
Both Carlson and Edman appear to be at least a month away still. Carlson, who sprained his AC joint in a spring training collision with fellow outfielder Jordan Walker, is scheduled to resume baseball activities this week, according to MLB.com’s John Denton. Carlson is targeting a mid-May return.
The switch-hitting Edman had wrist surgery after last season, but was cleared last week to start swinging from both sides instead of just the left side as he had previously been doing, according to Denton. Edman figures to be the team’s starting center fielder once he returns, which could also be in May.
Photo Credit: © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
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