Diamondbacks trade for outfielder Lars Nootbaar from Cardinals

The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to trade for outfielder Lars Nootbaar from the St. Louis Cardinals, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo first reported on trade deadline Monday.

Arizona traded a package including starting pitching prospect Daniel Eagen, relief pitching prospect Sandro Santana and a player to be named later, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported.

This was the lone deal made by the Diamondbacks by the trade deadline, which has since been made official. To make room on the 40-man roster, Arizona transferred starting pitcher Zac Gallen to the 60-day injured list with right elbow inflammation).

Who is Diamondbacks OF Lars Nootbaar?

Nootbaar is 28 years old, a left-handed hitter and will enter free agency after the 2027 season.

The Southern California native has been with the Cardinals for his entire career, debuting in 2021. He missed all of April and May due to a procedure on his heels last year, but he returned on June 5 and provided a boost for the St. Louis lineup.

He hit for an .872 OPS in June before cooling off in July.

“I’ve watched him progress early on in his career … and it looked like he settled in a little bit,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He has a nice approach. I think he fits our offensive profile very well. And I think he was injured at the beginning of the year. … So hopefully he hasn’t hit his stride yet. And when he comes here, he will.”

Nootbaar has extreme platoon splits this season with a .737 OPS against righties and .483 OPS versus lefties. His career splits are more even (.764 to .677), but he is being brought in to help the Diamondbacks perform better against righties.

He works walks at an elite 13.1% clip and does not chase, fitting into Arizona’s hitting philosophies. His career high for home runs is 14 from both 2022 and 2023, as he is more of an on-base guy than a power hitter.

Defensively, he has played all three outfield positions this season.

“The ability to get on base, he’s a good hitter, he’s a good baseball player. I think he fits what we’re trying to do offensively,” general manager Mike Hazen said.

The Diamondbacks are in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, like they were when they bought at the 2023 and 2024 trade deadlines. This time, they have climbed to the second NL Wild Card spot despite a series of injuries that have mostly impacted the starting rotation but also taken young outfielders Jordan Lawlar and Tommy Troy, along with Lourdes Gurriel Jr., off the field.

Arizona’s season at the plate has not gone as expected, with Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo having worse seasons than a year ago. Gabriel Moreno’s breakout campaign and a recent surge from the lower half of the lineup helped the Diamondbacks play well going into the All-Star break and in the second half. Arizona has won four of its first five series out of the break.

All year, it has felt that the Diamondbacks have been a bat or two short, particularly when looking at lower-tier production from first base and designated hitter. Arizona ranks 30th in OPS from first base and has been bottom five from the DH spot for most of the year. Right-handed pitching has given the lineup trouble, as well.

Arizona signed free agent Max Kepler earlier this season, but he missed 80 games due to a performance-enhancing drugs suspension. Therefore, he will not be eligible to play in the postseason if the D-backs get there. That added further urgency in getting a deal done for another bat.

Eagen was the No. 5 prospect in the farm system, ranked by MLB Pipeline. He put up a 4.95 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 87.1 innings in Double-A Amarillo this season, a hitter-friendly environment.

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