The St. Louis Cardinals are inching closer to full strength.
Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is on the 60-Day Injured List and will be eligible to come off it towards the end of May. It has been shared that the current hope is that he’ll be ready to be activated on May 24.
On Saturday, the Cardinals gave an update on Nootbaar that potentially fits this timeline. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol shared that the expectation is Nootbaar will begin a minor league rehab assignment the week of May 10, as shared on X by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.
“Lars Nootbaar will start a rehab assignment the week beginning May 10, Marmol said today. So, assume in a lineup somewhere in the system on Tuesday, May 12. Cardinals will have 20 days from then to activate him assuming no setbacks, which puts his return ~June 1,” Jones wrote.
When Nootbaar actually begins the rehab assignment, the clock will immediately start. Position players can have a maximum of 20 days on a minor league rehab assignment. That doesn’t necessarily mean a player has to wait the full 20 days, though. That all will be determined by how Nootbaar does on the field and how the coaching staff and front office view his progress.
As of right now, the Cardinals are very likely to get Nootbaar back at some point in late May or the very beginning of June.
The Cardinals entered the day on Saturday with a 19-13 record and a five-game winning streak before a matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. To put it into perspective how well the young Cardinals are playing, Los Angeles entered the day on Saturday with a 20-12 record. The Dodgers are the favorites to win the championship once again and the Cardinals have just one fewer win. St. Louis is outperforming expectations and hasn’t even had Nootbaar available for a game yet. That’s about to change. If the Cardinals can keep this hot streak going over the next few weeks, they’re just going to get even better.
This Cardinals team is electric and isn’t even at its best. Nathan Church has been hot recently, but the Cardinals aren’t getting a lot from Victor Scott II offensively. Nootbaar will be an upgrade, no matter how the Cardinals want to use him. St. Louis fans can start getting excited.
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