According to Fansided’s Christopher Kline, one of those players is fan-favorite and former World Baseball Classic star Lars Nootbaar. Nootbar is a decent outfielder that has some value as a trade chip, so the Cards should try to cash in.

“The 2025 campaign was a struggle for Lars Nootbaar, who put up a .686 OPS and 95 OPS+ in 509 at-bats. The numbers under the hood are much better, however, which means he’s due for positive regression. With two more years of club control, the 28-year-old lefty has real value as a trade chip. Plenty of outfield-needy teams have been connected to Nootbaar this winter. So, again, Bloom ought to act. Nathan Church made his MLB debut last season after raking through the Minors. The early sample was not great, but the speedster profiles as an elite defender, at the very least. The Cardinals can pivot toward run prevention with an offense that will underperform regardless. Nootbaar is a fan favorite and one of the more accomplished hitters left on this Cardinals roster, but rather than wait until he’s a lame duck, St. Louis should pull the trigger now and keep stockpiling for the future,” Kline wrote.

This past season, Nootbaar slashed .234/.325/.361/.686 with 24 doubles, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 135 games. But as Kline mentions, the underlying numbers for Nootbar show that he’s still a nice commodity to have.

Nootbaar is set to make $5.25 million this season, and still has another year of control. This should be attractive for teams that desperately need a starting outfielder as well.

While it always hurts to see a fan-favorite go, if the Cards want to truly commit to a rebuild, finding a suitor for Nootbaar needs to happen. Then, Nathan Church can step in as his long-term replacement.