Is Laars Nootbaar playing today? Latest injury update for Cardinals vs Braves

Lars Nootbaar hasn’t played since Opening Day, but will he be available to come back in a new series against the Braves?

The St. Louis Cardinals scored the second-most runs in the league the opening series of the MLB season and walked away with a series win and a 2-1 record. While the Toronto Blue Jays are a good and challenging team, the true litmus test for the Cardinals starts Monday in the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta is expected to compete deep in the season, possibly making a run at the World Series. They’re in the second- or most-competitive division in the National League and roster a tough team.

Put simply, St. Louis will want its best available for this one.

Will Lars Nootbaar play tonight, Monday, against the Braves?

Lars Nootbaar hasn’t played since Opening Day, when he went 1-for-4 while working two walks. He jammed his thumb as FanSided’s Kevin Henry reported. The imaging was fine, so this is expected to be a quick rest period for Nootbaar.

We don’t know if Lars Nootbaar will be in the lineup against Atlanta just yet. From the jump, this was said to be a minor injury, so if we had to guess, we would expect him back Monday or Tuesday. That is entirely speculation, though, and the official word isn’t out just yet. We will update when it is.

Nootbaar joins pitchers Adam Wainright (injured list, groin) and Giovanny Gallegos as the focal points of the injury discussion for St. Louis. Willson Contreras took a fastball to the knee on Opening Day in a scary moment, but was back in action on Sunday, so he’ll presumably be good to go against Atlanta.

The Cardinals get to play host, starting at 6:45 p.m. local time on Monday night.