Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar: Receives big-league call-up

The Cardinals selected Nootbaar's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.

St. Louis designated pitcher Bernardo Flores for assignment and optioned outfielder Lane Thomas to Memphis to make room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster, respectively, for Nootbaar. An eight-round pick in the 2018 first-year player draft, Nootbaar doesn't possess noteworthy pedigree and didn't enter the season with major buzz in prospect circles, but he drew the big club's attention through his hot start to the season at Memphis. The 23-year-old slashed .329/.430/.557 with five home runs in 93 plate appearances at Triple-A, posting a magnificent 14 percent walk rate while striking out just 18.3 percent of the time. Expect the Cardinals to give the lefty-hitting Nootbaar a trial as a strong-side platoon option in right field, which would allow Tommy Edman to spend more time at his natural position of second base.