Why Cardinals must avoid making Lars Nootbaar trade before deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals have upset expectations so far during the 2026 season. They are also expected to receive a boost, as outfielder Lars Nootbaar will return from injury soon.

Nootbaar has one year of team control remaining on his contract. However, he could reportedly be a trade candidate.

Jeff Passan of ESPN recently published a trade deadline outlook article. According to Passan, the Cardinals “best player potentially available” is Nootbaar.

“As far as subtracting … well, they pretty much did that all winter. Which has left them with a paucity of clear candidates to move. Nootbaar hasn’t played yet this season, but he’s a high-on-base outfielder who can play some center and has another year of club control,” Passan wrote.

The Cardinals have been in a rebuild. Their impressive performance this season has been a surprise, but St. Louis could still look to move on from some MLB players.

Trading nootbaar before the deadline may be a mistake, though.

Cardinals should wait to trade Lars Nootbaar

Sure, trading Nootbaar before he becomes a free agent makes sense. That will not happen until the offseason following the 2027 campaign, however.

Nootbaar will only have a couple of months to build his trade value before the 2026 deadline. St. Louis may not be able to receive as big of a return during the regular season. If the Cardinals wait until the offseason, though, then perhaps Nootbaar’s trade value will be especially high. He will have from June through September (and possibly October if the Cardinals reach the postseason) to further catch the attention of potential suitors.

Trading Nootbaar before the 2026 trade deadline would not be a franchise-changing mistake. Perhaps St. Louis could receive a talented prospect or two. With that being said, waiting until the offseason may be the Cardinals’ best decision.

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