St. Louis Cardinals Set to Activate Outfielder Lars Nootbaar From Injured List Friday

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar has been sidelined for over a month with multiple rib fractures, but he is finally on pace to rejoin the St. Louis Cardinals in Arizona.

Sep 27, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Lars Nootbaar (21). / Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals will activate outfielder Lars Nootbaar from the 10-day injured list on Friday, The Athletic's Katie Woo reported Wednesday night.

Per Woo, St. Louis will option 25-year-old catcher Pedro Pagés back to the minor leagues in a corresponding move. As a result, Nootbaar will be part of the Cardinals' roster when they open their road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday – perhaps even in their starting lineup.

Nootbaar has been sidelined with two non-displaced fractures in his left ribcage since early March. He started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis back on April 2.

Although there was a chance Nootbaar was going to return to the big leagues this past Monday, he was re-evaluated and given two more games to ramp things up. Nootbaar ultimately played six games in the minors to open 2024, batting .191 with two RBI and a .558 OPS.

Also within this story:

Lars Nootbaar will be activated off the IL and make his 2024 debut on Friday against the D-backs. Pedro Pagés will be the corresponding move. #STLCards https://t.co/mOf7U2OZoY

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 11, 2024

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters Wednesday morning that he planned to speak to Nootbaar after he completed his day game with Double-A Springfield. The plan at the time was to have Nootbaar join the team for their trip to Arizona on Thursday night and get officially activated on Friday.

All seems to be going according to plan, with Nootbaar on track to make his season debut this weekend.

Nootbaar made his MLB debut back in 2021, then became a regular member of the Cardinals' lineup in 2022 and 2023. He hit exactly 14 home runs in each of the past two seasons.

The 26-year-old outfielder has appeared in 283 big league contests in his career. He is a .246 lifetime hitter with a .780 OPS and a 6.1 WAR.

The Cardinals got off to a 6-7 start in Nootbaar's absence, placing them dead last in the NL Central through two weeks of action.

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