Lars Nootbaar Injury: Could miss start of '26 season

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said Sunday that Nootbaar (heels) isn't guaranteed to be available for the start of the 2026 season, Matt Pauley of 1120 AM KMOX St. Louis reports.

Nootbaar is on the mend from Oct. 7 surgery to address deformities on both of his heels. At the time the procedure was performed, the Cardinals didn't put a timeline on Nootbaar's return to full baseball activities, but Bloom's comments suggest that the outfielder could need around six months to get back to 100 percent health. Bloom noted that Nootbaar won't be hurried along in the rehab process, and even if the 28-year-old winds up on the injured list to begin the 2026 campaign, he would be shelved for only a limited amount of time. Nootbaar played in a career-high 135 games in 2025, slashing .234/.325/.361 with 13 home runs, four stolen bases, 48 RBI and 68 runs over 583 plate appearances.