Cardinals May Be Forced To Place Young Outfielder On IL After Saturday Exit

The St. Louis Cardinals lost an excruciating game on Saturday to the Atlanta Braves. They fell to 50-46 on the year and are now 6 1/2 games back in the National League Central.

To make matters worse, they were already without Nolan Arenado for Saturday's game and later had to pull Lars Nootbaar from the game with side discomfort.

The Cardinals could have a short bench for Sunday's game against the Braves as they try to avoid a three-game sweep to end the first half of the year.

On Twitter, John Denton of MLB.com noted that the Cardinals had not posted their lineup yet and that it's very possible Nootbaar could miss some time.

"With the Cardinals yet to post their lineup for today’s 1:15 PM CT game that means a roster move is likely coming," Denton posted.

"LF Lars Nootbaar, who was pulled early from two of the last three games with left side/intercostal pain, could potentially be headed to the IL."

Nootbaar has been dealing with pain in his side since the end of June. He leads the team in home runs with 12, but he's slashing .227/.332/.381 with a .712 OPS.

With Nootbaar potentially going on the injured list, the Cardinals may end up recalling Jordan Walker from Double-A Springfield. He has been rehabbing from appendicitis after he landed on the injured list at the end of June.

This means the Cardinals may have a short bench for Sunday's finale against the Braves. We'll see what the next steps are for Nootbaar.