Rays Trade Target: OF Lars Nootbaar

The Tampa Bay Rays have an outfield problem, both an overabundance of outfielders on the current roster and no clear answer on will take on starting roles once the 2026 season arrives.

We know the Rays are trying to address this as they’ve made several moves already this offseason to clear some spots on the roster as they’ve parted ways with Christopher Morel and Everson Periera. They claimed outfielder Jake Fraley, only to designate him for assignment a few weeks later; although, there remains a possibility the Rays bring him back once the non-tender deadline has passed. The team has also acquired Ryan Vilade as a depth piece who is capable of playing in the outfield.

However, they are still on the lookout for a player who can provide an impact both offensively and defensively, and that option likely won’t be affordable on the free agent market. Thus, they’ll have to address the need through trade and an intruiging name is reportedly available in St. Louis.

Ken Rosenthal in The Athletic:

St. Louis also is expecting to entertain trade offers on Lars Nootbaar, who was in heavy demand at the deadline. Nootbaar, 28, underwent double heel surgery at the end of the season, putting his Opening Day availability — and overall trade value — in question. Still, with several teams searching for outfield help, a market could develop for Nootbaar, especially as his recovery progresses.

Nootbaar was an 8th round pick in 2018 by the Cardinals and never received much attention as a prospect; he topped out at 6th in the Cardinals system entering the 2022 season and this was after he had already made his big league debut. However, during that 2022 campaign, Nootbaar broke out and proceeded to hit .228/.340/.448 with a 123 wRC+, showcasing above average defense and an elite ability to get on base. The outfielder did more of the same in 2023 and 2024 having solid campaigns.

However, Nootbaar struggled in 2025 as he produced the lowest wRC+ of his career mostly due to his walks and slugging percentage plummeting due to injury.

Once the season was over, it was revealed that Nootbaar had been dealing with Haglund’s deformities on both of his heels, supposedly since his 2023 season, despite 118 and 114 wRC+ the two seasons prior to 2025.

Nootbaar underwent sugery in October to remove the heel issue(s), and his status for Opening Day for questionable at this point with Chaim Bloom, the former Rays brass and new Cardinals President of Baseball Operations, saying that, “Opening Day is neither entirely off the table nor entirely guaranteed for Nootbaar following his surgery.”

Coming off a down year and with his status for the 2026 season in question, Nootbaar’s trade value has never been lower.

The 28-year old made $2.95M in 2025 after beating the Cardinals in his first round of arbitration. He is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $5.7M in 2026 and has one more year of team control before becoming a free agent following the 2027 season.