Cardinals-Astros Interlinked In Shocking Trade Rumors

The St. Louis Cardinals are in one of the weirder spots in all of baseball this season. They didn't do much of anything during the offseason. Most of their moves involved letting some veterans walk away in free agency.

But St. Louis won a lot of games early in the season. Recently, they've cooled off quite a bit, but they're still expected to be big time contributors at the trade deadline. At the moment, it's looking like the Cardinals will be sellers rather than buyers, but things could change rather quickly.

FanSided's Drew Koch recently linked Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar to the Houston Astros in a massive trade ahead of the trade deadline this season.

"Fellow Cardinal Lars Nootbaar could also be on the move this summer if St. Louis decides to sell," Koch wrote. "With a 2025 salary of $2.95 million and team control through the 2027 season, Nootbaar won't come cheap, but wouldn't cost as much in terms of prospect capital as the aforementioned Donovan. For his career, Nootbaar has relatively even lefty-righty splits, but his power numbers tick up by about 50 points against right-handed pitching."

With JJ Wetherholt surging up the minor leagues, Brendan Donovan could shift to the outfield full time. With that in mind, Nootbaar becomes expendable for St. Louis.

Nootbaar isn't having a great season as he's hitting closer to .200 than .300. He's been a solid fielder for St. Louis this season, but it hasn't been anything spectacular.

The Astros could use the help in the outfield, especially if it comes as a controllable piece like Nootbaar. If the Cardinals can get a solid return, this idea makes a lot of sense.