Cardinals outfielder on verge of return from rib injury

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol provided reporters with updates regarding a handful of the club’s injured players Saturday afternoon, the most optimistic of which was regarding outfielder Lars Nootbaar. As noted by MLB.com’s John Denton, the 26-year-old played a full game in left field for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Memphis Saturday evening, which figures to be followed by a game at DH on Sunday. Assuming those final rehab games go well, Denton adds that Nootbaar is slated to head to St. Louis on Monday and could be activated from the injured list in time for that evening’s series opener against the Phillies.

The Cardinals opened the season with a makeshift outfield mix of Jordan Walker, prospect Victor Scott II, Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan due to injuries suffered not only by Nootbaar, but also center fielders Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson. Nootbaar’s start to the season has been delayed by a pair of fractures in his rib cage, while Edman has been dealing with pain in his surgically-repaired right wrist and Carlson suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder just before the season began.

Nootbaar’s return should provide a boost to the club’s production in the outfield, as he’s hit a solid .247/.356/.430 with a 120 wRC+ and an excellent 14.5% walk rate in 225 games for the Cardinals over the past two seasons. That steady production should help to offset the slow starts suffered by Walker (27 wRC+), Scott (4 wRC+), and Burleson (30 wRC+) so far this season, though it’s of course still too early in the season to make any long-term judgments about the aforementioned trio.

It appears that Nootbaar is significantly close to a return than either Edman or Carlson, neither of whom have resumed baseball activities at this point. That could change rather quickly, however, as Denton notes that Carlson was scheduled to have his shoulder examined by team doctors Saturday, while Edman is scheduled to meet with a specialist on Monday. Both players could be cleared to resume baseball activities if those aforementioned check-ups go well.

Edman was hampered by wrist issues last year and missed nearly a month of action over the summer, leading to him going under the knife in October. He hasn’t bounced back from that surgery as well as expected, however, and missed all of spring training while dealing with continued soreness in his wrist. He was slated to be the club’s starting center fielder this season, though he’s capable of playing anywhere in the infield and outfield as needed and could receive time at his native position of shortstop alongside Masyn Winn and Brandon Crawford when healthy.

Carlson, meanwhile, appeared poised to replace Edman in center field to open the season before he too hit the injured list to open the season. While he posted strong numbers en route to a third-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting back in 2021, the switch-hitter has struggled since with a .230/.316/.364 slash line in 204 games. It’s possible he’ll get regular reps in the outfield if he returns to action before Edman does, though once the club’s outfield is once again at full strength he figures to be relegated to work off the bench as the club’s fourth outfielder.

Looking beyond the outfield, Marmol also provided an update on right-hander Keynan Middleton to reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) Saturday afternoon. As relayed by Jones, Middleton received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow and is expected to resume baseball activities after a 72-hour rest period. The news represents a slight setback for Middleton, who was originally scheduled to begin his throwing program earlier this week.

Middleton has yet to make his Cardinals debut after signing a one-year deal with the club back in February, but pitched to a 3.38 ERA and 4.20 FIP in 51 games last year that included a dominant stretch run in New York where he posted an excellent 1.88 ERA with a 3.26 FIP while striking out 30.4% of batters faced. Upon his return, Middleton figures to slot into the club’s late-inning mix alongside the likes of Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero.