Nootbaar nears Cardinals return after final rehab stop in Memphis
Nootbaar homered in both Palm Beach and Memphis, putting him on track to return to St. Louis after one last rehab check.
Lars Nootbaar’s two-game stop in Memphis gave the Cardinals the final read they needed, and the outfielder was expected back in the lineup Friday after a rehab trail that ended with power at every level.
Nootbaar had been on the 60-day injured list since March 25 after offseason surgery on both heels, and the Cardinals used Triple-A Memphis as the last checkpoint before activating him. Manager Oliver Marmol expected the rehab assignment to move from Double-A Springfield to Memphis on June 2 or June 3, a sign the club saw the finish line after a long reset for one of its most important left-handed bats.
The best sign came at the plate. Nootbaar homered in his first rehab game with Single-A Palm Beach, then went deep again in Memphis, where the organization wanted to see whether the power and timing had returned before sending him back to St. Louis. That kind of production matters for a Cardinals lineup that has been forced to keep shuffling pieces in and out of Memphis while trying to stabilize the big-league roster.
Nootbaar’s return could be the first domino. Nathan Church was set to begin rehab Thursday in Memphis after landing on the 10-day injured list May 22, retroactive to May 21, with a left shoulder strain. Church had already resumed throwing and batting practice before that assignment, which put him on a similar path toward game action.
Ramón Urías was next, with a weekend rehab stop following his May 21 move to the 10-day injured list because of right elbow lateral epicondylitis. Urías had already returned to batting practice and started a throwing program, giving St. Louis a chance to bring back another position player if his body responded well in Memphis.
For the Cardinals, the sequence is the point. Nootbaar’s bat looked ready after his final rehab stop, and Church and Urías were lining up behind him. Three more healthy position players would give St. Louis more room to stop leaning so heavily on constant Triple-A call-ups and options as the season kept moving.
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