The St. Louis Cardinals are hopeful that outfilder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) can start a rehab assignment as early as next week, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. Nootbaar has been dealing with a ribcage/intercostal injury over the past month and has been on the injured list since July 13. Nootbar is currently slashing .227/.332/.381 on the season with 12 home runs, 37 RBI, 50 runs scored, and four stolen bases. While he has been on the shelf, Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker have been seeing more consistent playing time in the outfield, while Ivan Herrera has been occupying the designated hitter spot. The Cardinals currently sit two and a half games back in the NL wild-card race, so they will be looking to get Nootbar healthy as soon as possible. Fantasy managers will want to keep tabs on how he progresses next week and if he begins a rehab assignment or not. Once he is back in the lineup, Nootbaar is a decent outfield option in leagues that have five outfield spots.

St. Louis Cardinals Lars Nootbaar (ribs) has been on the injured list with a left costochondral sprain (ribcage) since July 13. Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said Monday that Nootbaar has been unable to swing a bat without feeling discomfort in his left ribcage. Until the rib pain subsides, there is no clear timetable for his return. This type of injury is similar to an oblique strain, as little progress could be made until the pain leaves. Nootbaar had been an everyday outfielder for the Cardinals until his injury, compiling 12 home runs, 37 RBI, and four stolen bases to go along with a .227 batting average. Fantasy managers in leagues with an open IL spot should continue to stash Nootbaar for now.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) is not able to swing a bat without feeling pain in his left ribcage, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis-Post Dispatch. Nootbaar was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left costochondral sprain on July 13. He had been playing through the injury since late June, and it appears as though it will continue to impact him for the foreseeable future. In 386 plate appearances this season, Nootbaar has slashed .227/.332/.381 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI, 50 runs scored, and four stolen bases. It's quite possible that this rib injury derailed his season even before he was forced to miss time. Nootbaar was hitting .248 with eight home runs and four stolen bases at the end of May, but has hit just .183 with four home runs and zero steals in June/July.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) is hoping to start a hitting progression on Monday, per Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Nootbaar has been dealing with a left costochondral sprain in his rib cage and was placed on the 10-day injured list on the last day of the first half of the season last Sunday. He will be eligible to come off the IL next Wednesday, but that's unlikely to happen, and the Cardinals may want him to go on a short minor-league rehab assignment before activating him. Depending on his progress once he resumes swinging a bat, we may not see the 27-year-old back in the big-league lineup until early August. Until Nootbaar is able to return, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker are all options to play the corner-outfield spots. Nootbaar has hit just .227 (75-for-331) this year with 12 homers, 37 RBI, 50 runs and four steals.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) was placed on the 10-day injured list before their contest on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that this is the same injury that has bothered Nootbaar for the past few weeks. Nootbaar was lifted from Saturday's game due to discomfort. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status during the All-Star break. Since the start of the month, the outfielder has posted a modest .219/.306/.375 with two doubles and one home run. Overall, he sits with a .227/.332/.381 line and a below-average .330 xwOBA. This afternoon, the Cardinals will give Jose Fermin the starting nod in left field. While he remains sidelined, Fermin, Brendan Donovan, and Alec Burleson should see most of the opportunities in left field.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (side) departed the team's game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday with left-side discomfort, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before the Cardinals replaced him in left field with Jose Fermin in the top of the sixth inning. Nootbaar has been trying to play through intercostal/ribcage soreness for the past couple of weeks, but he has missed multiple games and been pulled on more than one occasion as a result of the injury. With the All-Star break coming up, the first half of his season may be over. The 27-year-old has hit a modest .227/.332/.381 with 12 homers, 37 RBI, 50 runs scored, and four steals in 386 plate appearances.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) is starting in left field and will bat fifth in Friday's series opener against the visiting Atlanta Braves and right-hander Grant Holmes at Busch Stadium. Nootbaar has been bothered by a rib injury dating back to last week, and he was forced out of Thursday's contest prematurely with soreness. However, the 27-year-old is feeling good going into the weekend and will wind up returning the very next day. The left-handed-hitting outfielder has hit just .230 on the season for the Cards with 12 home runs. Nootbaar has been slightly better so far in July, going 7-for-27 (.259) with a homer, two doubles, two RBI and five runs scored in eight games and 30 trips to the plate. Despite the fact he only has 12 homers in 86 games, he's only three homers shy of setting a new career-high. Nootbaar has gone hitless in just one at-bat against Holmes in his career.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs) was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning of Thursday's contest due to soreness in his rib cage, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said that the move was precautionary, and he is expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow. That's good news for the outfielder, although this has been a recurring issue for at least a couple of weeks. He recently missed the last two games of June with soreness in the same area. Hopefully the 27-year-old can put the injury behind him and continue his solid 2025 season where he is slashing .229/.334/.384 with 12 home runs.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (intercostal) is back in left field and will hit seventh in Tuesday's contest against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander Paul Skenes at PNC Park. Nootbaar will return to action in Pittsburgh after missing the last two games due to an aggravated left-intercostal injury. It's not the best matchup for him to return to against Skenes, so those setting DFS lineups may want to avoid him in his return. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter went through a rough stretch in mid-June but has picked things up in his last eight games, going 8-for-30 (.267) with three home runs, a double, seven RBI and four runs scored in 35 plate appearances. In seven career at-bats against Skenes, Nootbaar is hitless with a .125 OPS.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that outfielder Lars Nootbaar (intercostal) will likely be out of the lineup until at least Tuesday against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates due to a left intercostal injury that he's been dealing with of late. Nootbaar aggravated the injury during a swing on Saturday in the win over the Cleveland Guardians and did not start in the series finale on Sunday. The Cardinals open a series in Pittsburgh on Monday, but fantasy managers should expect the 27-year-old left-handed hitter to be out of the lineup for a second straight game against left-hander Andrew Heaney. If Nootbaar is unable to return by Tuesday or later this week, he could land on the 10-day injured list heading into the All-Star break. Nootbaar is a starting outfielder for St. Louis when healthy and is batting just .227 (68-for-299) with 11 home runs, 35 RBI, 44 runs and four stolen bases.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (ribs), who has been bothered by rib pain recently, winced in pain during a check swing on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians but stayed in the game. Nootbaar is out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale in Cleveland against a left-hander, and manager Oliver Marmol said there was no medical update on Nootbaar. It's something to watch for fantasy managers going into St. Louis' series opener on Monday in Pittsburgh against the division-rival Pirates. Despite not being 100 percent physically of late, the 27-year-old outfielder has gone 8-for-30 (.267) with three home runs, a double, seven RBI and four runs scored in eight games since June 19. He's hitting just .227 (68-for-299) on the year, but his xBA of .246 supports the fact that he has some positive regression coming. Nootbaar has also added 11 home runs as a regular for St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (intercostal) is back in the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the hosting Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Luis L. Ortiz, playing left field and batting fifth in the order. Nootbaar will return to action after missing the final two games of the series against the Chicago Cubs with an intercostal injury, but he's back on Friday and ready to go for the weekend. He has hit .237 (44-for-186) with nine of his 11 home runs on the year against right-handed pitchers and has gone hitless in just two career at-bats versus Ortiz. The 27-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder comes into Friday's series opener riding a modest six-game hitting streak in which he's gone 7-for-22 with three home runs, a double, seven RBI and three runs scored.

Updating a previous report, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (intercostal) received a pain-relieving shot in his intercostal on Tuesday night, according to manager Oliver Marmol. It requires 48 hours of inactivity, which is why he was unavailable to play on Wednesday and Thursday. The Cardinals think they got ahead of any potential side injury and expect Nootbaar to play in Cleveland this weekend in a series against the Guardians, according to Jeff Jones. It's something to keep an eye on for the 27-year-old, who is currently in the midst of a modest six-game hitting streak in which he's gone 7-for-22 with three home runs, a double, seven RBI and three runs scored. Nootbaar is in the 93rd percentile in hard-hit rate this year and is right in the middle (50th percentile) in strikeout rate, so he should improve on his current .230 average as a starting outfielder with 20-plus-homer power.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is sitting for the final contest of a four-game series with the visiting Chicago Cubs. Nootbaar will be out of the team's lineup for the second straight day as they face another southpaw in Shota Imanaga. Teammate Brendan Donovan is occupying left field and batting leadoff. The former eighth-round pick was productive over his first 30 games this season, but has seen his average drop 40 points to .230 since Apr. 30. Despite how bad he's been in June (.174), Nootbaar's average exit velocity (92.2 MPH) and hard-hit rate (53.4%) are sitting at career-highs, and his xBA is a more palatable .247.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is out of the starting lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Chicago Cubs. This appears to be a routine rest day for Nootbaar versus a left-handed starting pitcher. Nootbaar has been swinging a hot bat lately with seven hits, three homers, and seven RBI over his last five games. In his absence, Brendan Donovan will shift to left field while Thomas Saggese covers second base versus left-hander Matthew Boyd on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups with Nootbaar on the bench for this one.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is starting in left field and batting seventh for Tuesday's road game in Chicago against the White Sox and right-hander Shane Smith. With Nootbaar slumping of late at the plate, this will be the first time all year that he hasn't served as St. Louis' leadoff hitter. Second baseman Brendan Donovan will set the table on Tuesday for the Red Birds. It's bad news for Nootbaar's DFS value, but hopefully this won't last forever. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter was given the last two games off after going hitless in his last 24 plate appearances with a walk and 13 strikeouts in seven games since June 8. The cold stretch has dropped his season slash line to .226/.329/.361 with eight homers, 28 RBI, 39 runs scored and four stolen bases in 266 at-bats. Nootbaar has never faced Smith in his career.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is out of the team's starting lineup for Tuesday's contest against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays at Busch Stadium. Brendan Donovan will start in left field and bat third, while Nolan Gorman starts at second base and bats out of the seven-hole against Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt. Nootbaar will get a day off after starting in each of the team's last 16 contests. It's a good time for a break, as the 27-year-old outfielder has just one hit in his last 19 at-bats to drop his season line to .237/.341/.379 in 253 at-bats. Both Donovan and Gorman have found some success against Bassitt in the past, albeit in small sample sizes. Donovan has hit .429 with a homer and two RBI in seven at-bats, while Gorman has homered twice and driven in four in his two at-bats versus Bassitt. Donovan currently ranks 11th in MLB with his .314 average on the year.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar found solid production at the top of the lineup in a 7-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. After a single to start the game, Nootbaar crushed a 388-foot two-run homer in his second at-bat for his eighth home run of the season. The 27-year-old also added a single in the seventh, finishing 3-for-4 with an additional run scored and a walk. Nootbaar is now slashing .249/.354/.411 in his fifth season with the Cardinals and has shown increased power, sitting six home runs shy of his career high of 14.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar will not be in the team's lineup when they host the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. It's a routine day off for the California native, who has appeared in all but two contests this season. Brendan Donovan will man left field in his place, with Nolan Gorman covering second base and shortstop Masyn Winn batting leadoff. Nootbaar has been solid in 2025, slashing .251/.356/.414 with seven home runs, ten doubles, 31 runs scored, 25 RBI, and four steals. At this pace, he has an excellent chance to set career-highs across the board and has once again cut his strikeout rate (16.4%). Not much has changed regarding quality contact for him, but an increased launch angle could explain his uptick in power.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar will take his first day off of the season on Tuesday against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Michael Siani will replace him in center field and will hit eighth in the batting order against Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes. Nootbaar has gotten off to a nice start in 2025, batting .302 (13-for-43) with two homers, a double and six RBI in 10 games, but he has just one hit in his last 14 at-bats. Siani has started the year by going 1-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk and two strikeouts in his nine appearances. The 25-year-old left-handed hitter will be a poor DFS option in the eight-hole against one of the best young arms in the game in Skenes. Siani has faced Skenes seven times in his career and is hitting .143 with a .429 OPS.