Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced this afternoon that outfielder has two nondisplaced fractures in his ribs on the left side, per . He underwent a CT scan yesterday after injuring himself making a catch in a recent game. Nootbaar will have a period of 10-14 days where he can swing the bat but have limited work otherwise, per and of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His readine s for Opening Day is now in doubt but not ruled out just yet. That i sue is compounded by the fact that is Courtney Lee Jersey also doubtful for Opening Day as he recovers from arthroscopic wrist surgery, per . In a vacuum, neither situation is devastating for the Cards but its not ideal for the club to be heading into the season with two thirds of its outfield now in jeopardy. Nootbaar has taken 974 trips to the plate for the Cardinals over the past three seasons, hitting 33 home runs while drawing walks at a 14% clip and limiting his strikeouts to a 20.3% rate. His combined batting line of .246/.351/.429 translates to a wRC+ of 117, indicating hes been 17% better than the league average hitter. Hes also swiped 17 bags and received strong grades for his outfield defense. Removing that kind of production from the lineup would be unwelcome at any time but having him out of action at the same time as Edman would be an unfortunate coincidence. Mozeliak suggested that and will likely step up for the time being, per . Carlson, 25, is a strong defender but hasnt quite broken out with the bat yet, having hit .243/.322/.394 thus far in his career for a wRC+ of 99. Burleson is generally considered a bat-first guy, though his major league production hasnt matched his work in the minors just yet. Hes hit .300/.350/.492 on the farm but just .237/.295/.375 in the big leagues, the latter line translating to a wRC+ of 85. With those two likely to be slotted next to on a regular basis, that could bump up to fourth outfielder status. Siani is a speed-and-defense guy who has hit just .138/.167/.138 in his big league career. Thats a tiny sample of just 30 plate appearances but his minor league offense has also been subpar. He slashed .227/.347/.350 in Triple-A last year for a wRC+ of 81. is also on the roster and can play all over the diamond, but the club doesnt have a regular designated hitter. That likely means Donovan will either be the DH or moving around to give someone else a partial day off most of the time. If could seize the DH job, perhaps that frees up Donovan to slot into the outfield more regularly but Carpenter is now 38 years old and hit just .176/.322/.319 for the Padres last year. Donovan also might need some infield time regardle s as currently profiles as the backup infielder but hes never played anywhere other than shortstop. With the outfield injuries, speculation has turned to , who is one of the clubs best prospects. But Mozeliak tells Denton that the club will take a measured and patient approach with the decision to promote him to the big leagues. Scott was just drafted in 2022 has yet to reach Triple-A, so its understandable the club may not want to rush him to the big leagues to cover what is likely a temporary need. All told, there are many moving parts and theres still a few weeks for the Cards to get everything figured out, but its at least somewhat concerning that health has become such a huge focus here in March. The club is looking to bounce back after a nightmare season in 2023 and is already dealing with notable injuries to two thirds of its starting outfield as well as , their marquee offseason pickup, who is dealing with a . Freddie Gillespie Jersey