Nootbaar’s Memphis Rehab Weekend Offers Encouraging Signs

The Cardinal Chronicle
Nootbaar’s Memphis Rehab Weekend Offers Encouraging Signs
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Lars Nootbaar’s rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis offered the Cardinals something they needed to see over the weekend — activity, production and a few signs that his timing is beginning to come back.

Nootbaar, working his way back from heel issues, appeared for Memphis during the Redbirds’ road series at Iowa and showed enough to make the weekend more than just a routine rehab stop.

On Saturday night, Nootbaar made an impact on both sides of the game. He threw out a runner at the plate from left field to end the third inning, then came back with a two-run homer in the fifth to help Memphis build a 3-0 lead. For a player on a rehab assignment, that kind of game matters. The bat showed life, the arm was tested in real game action, and he was moving well enough defensively to make a play that changed an inning.

On Sunday, Nootbaar served as the designated hitter and went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Memphis’ 18-4 loss to Iowa. It was a rough day for the Redbirds, who fell out of first place for the first time this season, but Nootbaar’s individual line was another positive piece in his return process. His weekend showed progress at the plate, including the home run Saturday and a multi-hit game Sunday.

The Cardinals still have reason to be careful. Rehab assignments are not just about box score production. They are about recovery, movement, timing, workload and how a player responds the next day. That is especially true with lower-body issues, where one good game does not automatically mean a player is ready for the grind of a major league schedule.

Still, the early signs were encouraging.

Nootbaar did more than take at-bats. He produced. He played defense. He threw out a runner. He homered. He followed it with a two-hit day. That is the kind of weekend the Cardinals wanted to see as they weigh when he might be ready to return to St. Louis.

There is no need to rush the final step, but Nootbaar’s Memphis weekend moved the conversation in the right direction.

For a Cardinals lineup that has been working through injuries, moving parts and too many committee solutions, a healthy Nootbaar would be more than a name coming off the injured list. He would bring balance, left-handed on-base ability, defensive steadiness and a proven major league presence back into the picture.

The Cardinals are not there yet, but the weekend in Memphis was a step in the right direction.

And for a rehab assignment, that is the whole point.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports