One of the biggest stories of the offseason so far for the St. Louis Cardinals involves outfielder Lars Nootbaar.
The Cardinals announced offseason surgeries for a few key members of the organization, including Nootbaar. For the 28-year-old, he had surgery on both of his heels to help remedy Haglund’s deformities. Not an injury you typically hear about in Major League Baseball, but essentially, they are painful growths that are close to the Achilles tendon.
Nootbaar is coming off a season in which he played the most games of his career at 135, but he took a step back offensively. He recently spoke with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and one thing that should have fans excited is the fact that he believes the surgery will actually put him in a position to have an even better offseason than he had over the last few years.
“To be honest with you, there is a part of me that for a couple of years now — in the cage or with the information I had in the weight room — that I’m getting as much as I can done, but also I can’t run or do certain things like I want because of the pain in my feet,” Nootbaar said to Goold. “With me getting this done and getting such good treatment on it, I almost, for me, feel like this offseason might be better. I’m clearing myself. I’m getting completely healthy. I’m not ignoring these ongoing injuries that have been bothering me.”
Sep 19, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar (21) hits a one run single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Nootbaar has been among the many Cardinals who have been speculated about as a potential trade piece. But, if that doesn’t end up happening and he can return to the level he was playing at in 2023 and 2024, that would be huge for St. Louis. He’s under team control and won’t be a free agent until 2028.
His best season came in 2023. That year, he slashed .261/.367/.418 with a .784 OPS. On top of this, he had 14 homers, 46 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, 23 doubles, and 74 runs scored in 117 games played. He had 3.3 wins above replacement that year, the highest total of his career. In 2024, took a slight step back, but the signs were there. He slashed .244/.342/.417 with 12 homers, 45 RBIs, and seven stolen bases in 109 games.
In 2025, it was nice that he was able to stay relatively healthy and play the most games of his career, but he slashed .234/.325/.361 and saw his OPS drop from .758 in 2024 to .686 in 2025. If this surgery can get him back to the way he was playing before 2025, that could certainly help the Cardinals’ rebuild efforts.
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