Astros join the crowded race for Lars Nootbaar

The trade deadline chatter around Lars Nootbaar just picked up a heavyweight suitor. MLB Trade Rumors flagged the Astros as a team showing interest in the Cardinals left fielder, and the report traces back to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, who's plugged into Houston's front office thinking.

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Astros Showing Interest In Lars Nootbaar t.co/GMBXYL3tww

It's not hard to see why Houston is sniffing around. The Astros have been rotating Taylor Trammell, Zach Dezenzo and LaMonte Wade Jr. through left field whenever Yordan Alvarez slides to DH, and none of that trio has locked down the job. Houston has reportedly wanted a reliable lefty bat out there for over a year now, and Nootbaar, a left-handed hitter with a knack for working walks, fits the profile GM Dana Brown has been chasing.

Nootbaar himself is coming off a bumpy stretch. He's hitting.241/.347/.366 across 45 games since returning from offseason heel surgery, including a rough.195 July. The power hasn't been there, but the on-base skills have held up, which is exactly the kind of profile that plays in a lineup already stacked with thump like Houston's.

Money-wise, this is a pretty tidy fit too. Nootbaar is making $5.25MM this season on an arbitration deal, with roughly $1.6MM left on the books, and he's controllable through next year. That leaves plenty of room under Houston's luxury tax number to make a move without blowing up the payroll.

The catch is St. Louis isn't giving him away. The Cardinals are reportedly asking a steep price, and Houston's farm system is thin, though names like Xavier Neyens, Kevin Alvarez and pitcher AJ Blubaugh have come up as pieces the Astros could dangle. And Houston isn't operating in a vacuum here, either — the Phillies, Pirates and Rays have all been mentioned as landing spots, so this is shaping up as a real bidding situation heading into the deadline.

Worth remembering: Houston's outfield search isn't a one-man show. Guys like Jake McCarthy, Mickey Moniak and Trevor Larnach are also on the radar for center field help, so Nootbaar is one option among several as the Astros try to patch a lineup spot that's underperformed most of the year. Whether St. Louis actually pulls the trigger before the deadline is the real question now.