With the St. Louis Cardinals 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in the National League, the team announced some bad news. Ahead of the All-Star break, the Cardinals, while getting Ivan Herrera back from the injured list, will put Lars Nootbaar in his place.
The Cardinals announced that, amid activating Herrera off the injured list, Nootbaar was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left costochondral sprain. The injury stems from rib issues Nootbaar has been dealing with, and will knock the outfielder out for a while.
C/DH Iván Herrera has been activated from the 10-day IL.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 13, 2025
OF Lars Nootbaar has been placed on the 10-day Injured List (left costochondral sprain). pic.twitter.com/0u5yVYbToO
This move comes just a day before the All-Star break, and ahead of the Cardinals' series finale against the Atlanta Braves as they look to avoid a sweep and falling further out of postseason contention.
Nootbaar, before heading onto the injured list, had been struggling. Since the start of June, Nootbaar had been hit just .183 with a .299 on-base percentage and a .321 slugging percentage.
On the season so far, he has a 100 OPS+, the lowest of his career, and right at league-average. His previous three seasons were all at least 10 percent better than league average, so his performance in 2025 has been a letdown.
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In 88 games this season, Nootbaar has 75 hits, 50 runs scored, 15 doubles, 12 home runs, 37 RBIs, four stolen bases, four caught stealing, 48 walks, and 83 strikeouts. He hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been great either.
As his OPS+ indicates, Nootbaar has been average. But, even though he's struggled lately, losing Nootbaar still stings. He's been a core part of the team over the years, and his absence will be felt.
With an NL Wild Card slipping out of the Cardinals' hands, they need all the help they can get. This injury will hurt their depth, and could further push the Cardinals to sell at the MLB trade deadline.
But, for now, Nootbaar heads to the 10-day injured list to recover and should be back sometime after the All-Star game.
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