If the Cardinals were dead-set on trading Lars Nootbaar this winter to clear up its clog of left-handed hitting position players, details on his prospective recovery from off-season surgery could complicate those plans.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom joined Matt Pauley on KMOX's Sports on a Sunday Morning show this past weekend and shared some insight on how the organization is viewing Nootbaar's recovery timeline after the outfielder underwent surgery on both heels to relieve Haglund's deformity.
Bloom told Pauley that opening day readiness, while not off the table as a possibility, is also not guaranteed for Nootbaar after this surgery.
This morning during “Sports on a Sunday Morning” on @KMOXSports, #STLCards POBO Chaim Bloom told me that Opening Day is not off-the-table but not guaranteed for Lars Nootbaar following his heel surgery. They will not hurry the rehab process but if he does miss time at the start…
— Matt Pauley 🎙️ (@MattPauleyOnAir) October 26, 2025
Before the news of his procedure popped up earlier this month, Nootbaar's name was expected to be among those on the trade block for a rebuilding Cardinals team under Bloom.
Nootbaar's production waned during the 2025 season, as it was the first season in which the 28-year-old outfielder finished with a sub-.700 OPS. Nootbaar's OPS+ (95) was also below league average for the first time in his career.
While it's a possibility that Nootbaar's decreases production was influenced by the fact that he was dealing with this heel issue throughout the season, it was still a disappointing result for what was billed as somewhat of a make-or-break campaign for his long-term future in St. Louis.
But if the Cardinals can't reasonably get much for Nootbaar via trade as a result of the uncertainty surrounding his readiness for the 2026 season? The team should consider kicking the can down the road to see if he recoups some value during the summer--whenever that summer might begin for the recovering outfielder.
Matt Pauley joined Joe Roderick and Brenden Schaeffer on Monday's episode of Cards Central 365 to discuss the latest on Nootbaar stemming from Sunday's interview with Chaim Bloom.