The Atlanta Braves were recently dealt a crushing blow when outfielder Jurickson Profar was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for PEDs.
This suspension crushes the Braves in the midst of a horrendous start to the year, so they’ll need to replace Profar before it’s too late.
FanSided’s Jacob Mountz recently urged the Braves to pursue a trade for St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar following the Profar suspension.
“Among the best inexpensive trade candidates the Braves can afford both monetarily and trade package-wise is Lars Nootbaar,” Mountz wrote. “The St. Louis Cardinals’ left-fielder isn’t known for staggering power or electrifying batting averages; however, the on-base percentages of .367 and .342 he posted the past two years have been exceptional.
“Nootbaar posted a stat line of .244/.342/.417/.758 with 12 home runs in 348 at-bats during an injury-shortened 2024 campaign. Despite the low home run total (Nootbaar topped out at 14 home runs twice in his career), Nootbaar’s hard-hit rate and average exit velocity were shockingly high, placing him in the 91st and 88th percentiles, respectively, according to Baseball Savant. This could mean there is more to Nootbaar’s bat than meets the eye.”
Nootbaar has gotten off to quite a fast start this season. He’s seemingly hitting everything hard for the Cardinals as St. Louis is off to a much better start than anybody expected.
St. Louis is still rebuilding, so trading Nootbaar could make sense, though he has two more years of team control left on his contract after this season. Spotrac projects him to sign an eight-year, $113 million contract when he lands in free agency.
For the Braves, adding a star like Nootbaar would work wonders toward replacing Profar.
More MLB: MLB Writer Urges Braves To Swing Blockbuster Trade Involving Struggling All-Star
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