Cardinals Fan Favorite Loosely Mentioned As Potential Trade Chip For 2026

The young St. Louis star could be on the hot seat

Jul 13, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0), outfielder Lars Nootbaar (21), second baseman Nolan Gorman (16), and outfielder Dylan Carlson (3) celebrate defeating the Chicago Cubs after at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images / Jeff Le-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals' lack of emphasis on player development over the last decade has finally forced them to enter a rebuilding phase with a team full of youngsters.

Considering that most of St. Louis' lineup is filled with homegrown talents brought up in the Cardinals' lackluster farm system, it's tough to tell how poorly the team will play next season.

A young Cardinals fan favorite, who was projected to be a significant star for St. Louis, could be on the move in 2026 if he doesn't figure things out next year, according to an insider.

"The Cardinals will enter 2025 again patiently prepared for (Lars) Nootbaar to break out," Belleville News-Democrat's Jeff Jones wrote Wednesday. "Whether he does – whether he can stay on the field – will go a long way toward determining whether he’s in St. Louis in 2026 and beyond, as he is also first-time arbitration-eligible this winter."

Nootbaar has batted .246 with 113 extra-base hits including 45 home runs, 146 RBIs and a .773 OPS throughout his four-year career with the Cardinals.

The 27-year-old was expected to have a breakout season in 2024 that never happened, mainly due to multiple stints on the injured list that kept him from continuing a hot streak at the plate.

The homegrown outfielder batted .244 with 33 extra-base hits including 12 home runs, 45 RBIs and a .759 OPS in 109 games played for the Cardinals in 2024.

With the Cardinals committed to fixing their player development system, perhaps they can help Nootbaar develop his skills further, allowing him to blossom into the star he's expected to be.

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