The Astros have interest in Cardinals left fielder Lars Nootbaar, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. That’s about as unsurprising a link as there’ll be this summer, as Houston has been searching for a reliable lefty-hitting outfielder for more than a year. GM Dana Brown walked back the handedness aspect a little over the weekend but reiterated that they’re looking for an offensive boost from their outfield. There’s a greater supply of lefty bats and many other teams prioritizing righty-swinging outfielders, so it’d make more sense for Houston to come away with a left-handed hitter.
Nootbaar is hitting .241/.347/.366 in 45 games since returning from last year’s surgery to address Haglund’s deformities on both heels. He hit very well upon initially being reinstated from the injured list in early June. Nootbaar has had a tough July, including a .195 batting average without a home run in 13 games since the All-Star Break, but his overall slash line is right around league average. He’s typically a solid but not elite hitter whose game is built mostly around a high walk rate and good on-base marks.
St. Louis is still in a retool and could move Nootbaar to take a late-season look at power-hitting outfield prospect Joshua Baez. Rome reports that the Cardinals have placed a high asking price that might deter the Astros, but it’s possible that’ll come down in the next few days. Houston doesn’t have a deep farm system but has a couple Top 100 adjacent prospects (Xavier Neyens and Kevin Alvarez) and could market controllable swingman AJ Blubaugh for help in another area.
Astros left fielders have been middle of the pack this season offensively, but that’s thanks mostly to Yordan Alvarez killing the ball in his handful of starts there. They’ve been playing Taylor Trammell, Zach Dezenzo and LaMonte Wade Jr. at the position when Alvarez has been at designated hitter. It’s a clear area for upgrade. Houston also could use a center fielder and should be involved on other outfield trade candidates like Jake McCarthy, Mickey Moniak and Trevor Larnach as well.
Nootbaar is controllable through next season and playing on a $5.25MM arbitration salary. He’s due around $1.6MM for the rest of the year. As shown on MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker, Houston is about $8MM shy of the $244MM luxury tax line. They’re likely to have limited financial flexibility but could certainly fit Nootbaar’s salary into the short-term budget.
