The Cardinals have placed outfielder Lars Nootbaar on the 10-day injured list. The placement, which is retroactive to March 31, is due to a left thumb contusion. Outfielder/designated hitter Juan Yepez has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take the vacant active roster spot.
Nootbaar suffered the injury diving into a base on Opening Day. He’d been testing the issue for the past few days but ultimately will require at least another week to recover. Nootbaar tested the thumb today while shagging fly balls during batting practice. He’s apparently still dealing with too much discomfort to play.
The Cards had given Nootbaar the Opening Day start in left field. He’d secured a regular lineup spot after breaking out with a .228/.340/.448 showing over 347 plate appearances last season. Paired with the promotion of top prospect Jordan Walker, the Cards relegated last year’s center fielder Dylan Carlson to the bench. One of Carlson or rookie Alec Burleson can step into the outfield alongside Walker and Tyler O’Neill while Nootbaar rehabs.
In other injury news out of Busch Stadium, the club informed reporters that starter Adam Wainwright threw his first bullpen session this afternoon (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). The staff ace opened his final season on the injured list after straining his groin in late March. His timetable for a return to MLB action remains unclear, but getting back onto a mound marks a small step forward in the process.
Nootbaar is one of the most underrated and best young talents in the game. Hope he recovers soon.
plus his name is great to yell out right before downing a shot.
Are you watching Nestles?
Guy is a gold mine
I want to believe your joking. I hope your joking. But I don’t think your joking. Everybody is into their own kinks, maybe walks are yours.
You ok bud? You escape a mental ward by chance? Let me know if you need help.
The improper use of ‘your’ alone tells me he isn’t.
There was this girl I met after getting 28 stitches in my arm…. she had these bruises so I asked her about them and she said “I escaped the hospital and they tackled me” sitting up all proud and tilting her head back and fortieth… I loved that girl… wish I could have escaped with her… still got a drawing of hers hanging on my wall… but everytime we talk she always has a new boyfriend so idk what’s up with her… way to pretty for her own good… always going with the wrong guy
I don’t know anything about him other than his name. I’m a fan already.
Nutbar
Can’t the guy afford a sliding mitt?
As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t dive into the base.
“back in the 1800’s it was legal to beat your wife with a stick no wider than your thumb” (angry woman in a meat packing factory)
“can’t do much damage with a thumb, should of been more like the rule of the wrist” (Murphy MacManus)
Nootbaar is “Rodriguez” in Spanish.
What’s his name in Japanese? He stuck out on that team like a …..well, you know.
….. Tatsuji
@dcartow his middle name is Japanese, it was given to him to honor his grandmother, i remember him saying that during an interview on the radio
“broke out with a .228 average”, you can’t make this stuff up. Hilarious!
Still evaluating players using batting average? You can’t make this stuff up. Hilarious!
No problem that you choose other statistics over BA, but my question for you is name the above average to good players that have a .228 or lower BA? I can’t think of many players.
@Cujo,
It’s not easy to be above average with a .228 or lower BA because that often means a player’s overall line is poor.
However, taking a lot of walks (avoiding outs), hitting for power, and playing strong defense all can overcome a low BA. And as BA has declined the last several seasons, the baseline has lowered.
A couple of recent examples, BA not quite that low, are Yasmani Grandal and Carlos Santana. And, of course, Nootbaar. As Bakemun points out below, he had a 125 wRC last season, well above average.
The flip side is a player with an “empty” BA, such as Juan Pierre, who actually was a solid player but not as good as his BA implies. He hit .295 and took some walks, but he had almost no power and didn’t add much value with his 614 career SB because he was successful at about a 75% rate, which isn’t much better than a break-even rate.
Appreciate your thoughts, but I’m just not there. My view on this is rather simple. Hits are more valuable and walks, so I’d rather have BA than BB.
125 wrc is breaking out.
You musta missed that he batted like .125 in his first 150 at bats? Then he started lighting it up in the second half, and I don’t blame you because it isn’t mentioned in the article… so your not a Cardinals fan… ur a hater! Lol I know what you are….
People who scoff at batting average as a useful marker are as much off the mark as one who would use it as the ultimate marker of performance. It doesn’t make someone out of touch to use it nor does it make someone cool to laugh at another person for making usage of the statistic.
Well said, Nottingham.
@hippy
imo boot won the job even with the slow start he was still crushing the ball just right at people also just his overall play and work ethic is why he is still playing.
The problem is using that stat without any context, which is why it’s a dumb one to evaluate in today’s game. What was the average for the league as a whole? What was his BABIP? That’s why cumulative stats like WRC+ are 100x more useful and reflective of reality. Also it’s easy AF to understand, so maybe these dinosaurs can wrap their heads around that stat for a change. Batting average is garbage.
@hippy
If you take out the slumps, everyone looks like an all star. Brandon Inge was the Tigers lone rep one year because he had a great first half. He just never put together a whole season. Unfortunately, for him and for Nootbar, they have to play both halves, and they both count. Even Inge could hit .228
Noot is an interesting, young player, but I don’t understand why there’s so much hype around him right now. Let time, and results, tell us if he really is that good. He seems like a great teammate, and he has a strong, accurate arm, but he still has so much to prove before he’s considered one of the game’s best, young talents.
If you wait too long, you’ll never be able to identify the best young talent in baseball because they’ll all be 30 before you believe they’re for real.
@rare
Is it alright to wait until he has good year? If he can’t hit, it hasn’t happened, yet. Batting average may not be everything, but it’s a required skill.
He’s a nice player, but if he’s one of the game’s best young talents then the talent pool has really thinned out.
Cue the Cardinals incredible depth fed by their world renowned Devil Magic. As a Pirates fan, I have no doubt this will end up being a positive for Cardinals.
Hopefully Dylan Carlson takes this opportunity and never relinquishes it.
@ Hippyripper.. “I loved that girl” I needed to laugh, thank you.