The St. Louis Cardinals are gaining momentum in their chase for a National League Wild Card spot. They trail the New York Mets by just three games for the final berth entering Tuesday.
However, just as things have started to look promising in St. Louis, the Cardinals will have to monitor one of their best players after exiting Monday's game against the Colorado Rockies.
Outfielder Lars Nootbaar had just returned from a rib sprain he sustained in mid-July that landed him on the injured list, playing in seven games before taking a foul ball off his left leg in the third inning of the Cardinals' 3-2 win over the Rockies.
It looked like Nootbaar would finish the game, staying in for another three innings. But after discovering pain and swelling in the knee, he would exit the game.
Luckily, after getting X-rays, the results came back negative. Nootbaar will be considered day-to-day moving forward, according to MLB.com's John Denton.
X-rays on Lars Nootbaar's left knee were negative. He is listed by the #STLCards as day-to-day. He fouled a pitch off his left leg in the third inning, but stayed in the game for three innings before leaving with pain and swelling in the knee.
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) August 12, 2025
Heading into Nootbaar's fifth season in the major leagues, it seems like the outfielder can't catch a break from the injury bug. Although it seems that the injury on Monday won't be long-term, this is the second injury the 27-year-old has sustained this season.
The rehab process is nothing new to Lars Nootbaar, as he's been on the injured list with different injuries five times since 2023.
St. Louis will continue to monitor the $2.95 million outfielder moving forward, but his status for the Cardinals' second game of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies is up in the air.