ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Cardinals, one of baseball hottest teams, travel to Philadelphia to take on one of baseball's best teams in the Phillies for a marquee three-game series over the weekend.
But they will have to do it without a key outfielder in the lineup, with the Cardinals announcing Friday they have placed OF Lars Nootbaar on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain. As a corresponding move, Jose Fermin has been called up to take Nootbaar's spot on the roster.
Nootbaar was removed in the bottom of the eighth of the Cardinals' 5-3 win against Cincinnati Reds with what was deemed initially as an "apparent left side injury".
The oblique strain is the latest injury blow to Nootbaar, who already had to begin the 2024 season on the injured list after suffering a rib contusion injury during Spring Training. Nootbaar missed the first 13 games of the regular season.
The injury to Nootbaar is a massive blow to the Cardinals lineup, with Nootbaar having had a terrific May, hitting a quality .275/.375/.475 slash line with four home runs and 12 RBIs in the month of May. Nootbaar's 146 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) and .875 OPS was second-best on the Cardinals in the month, with only Nolan Gorman being better.
