Before game, the Cardinals reinstated catcher Ivan Herrera from the 10-day injured list. To make room on the roster, outfielder Lars Nootbaar was placed on the 10-day IL with a left costochondral sprain.
Herrera had been out since June 19 with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, but his relatively quick recovery—returning in under a month—is an encouraging sign. This marks his second stint on the injured list this season, as he also missed about a month earlier in the year due to left knee inflammation. As a result of these setbacks, Herrera has only appeared in 43 games during the 2025 season, including today’s game against the Braves, where he served as the designated hitter.
Despite his injury setbacks, Ivan Herrera has been impressive at the plate when healthy, posting a strong .320/.392/.533 slash line with eight home runs in his first 171 plate appearances. To help preserve his health, the Cardinals are expected to limit his time behind the plate and primarily use him as a designated hitter for the rest of the season.
In an unexpected development, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the team had Herrera take part in some outfield workouts. The goal is to find a way for him to contribute defensively without tying up the DH role full-time. While Herrera is a catcher by trade, he has never played in the outfield professionally. His only other experience outside of catching includes a few games at first base during winter league play.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol downplayed the likelihood of Ivan Herrera seeing regular action in the outfield, stating, “We’re going to see what that looks like. Catching puts a lot of strain on the body, and our priority is keeping him healthy. If that means using him strictly as a DH, then that’s worth it to keep his bat in the lineup while also allowing for rest days when we need lineup flexibility.”
As for the outfield, Lars Nootbaar will spend a full stint on the injured list to recover from a side issue he’s been dealing with recently. The injury involves the costochondral joints, which connect the ribs to the cartilage, and while it’s uncomfortable, it’s a relief that it isn’t an oblique strain—an injury that could have kept him out much longer. Nootbaar already missed around seven weeks during the 2024 season due to separate IL stints caused by an oblique strain and a rib contusion.
With 12 home runs in 386 plate appearances this season, Nootbaar is hitting.227/.332/.381, which translates to a 104 wRC+ that is marginally higher than the league average. For St. Louis, left-handed hitter Nootbaar has been on the field nearly every day, primarily playing left field but also contributing at the other two outfield spots. Nootbaar’s ability to stay on the field up to this point was encouraging after injuries hindered him in 2023 and 2024. It is hoped that he won’t need much more time to recover and return to playing shape. When Nootbaar is out, Brendan Donovan, Jose Fermin, or Garrett Hampson are likely to be deployed in left field.