Bader Returns to St. Louis’ Lineup and Thursday Roster Moves

photo: Harrison Bader (Jeff Curry/Imagn)

Following Wednesday’s signing of left-handed reliever T. J. McFarland, who had opted out of his contract with the Washington Nationals, the St. Louis Cardinals lost another player, a catcher, likely for the same reason – the perception of a better opportunity elsewhere.

  • Memphis catcher Tyler Heineman unconditionally released.
  • Outfielder Harrison Bader activated from the 10-day IL by St. Louis.
  • Outfielder Lars Nootbaar optioned from St. Louis to Memphis.

Heineman

Heineman, 30, was signed as a minor league free agent last November. The switch-hitter had prior MLB experience with Miami and San Francisco but did not seem close to joining St. Louis. Heineman has spent most of his time at Triple-A since first reaching that level in 2015.

Tyler Heineman

With the Redbirds, Heineman slashed .254/.325/.313/.638 in 77 plate appearances over 21 games. Other catchers on the Memphis roster include Clint Coulter, Dennis Ortega and 40-man roster player Al1 Sanchez.

Bader

The Cardinals announced Thursday that they activated centerfielder Harrison Bader from the 10-day injured list. Bader missed the 34 games due to a right rib hairline fracture suffered on May 24 at the Chicago White Sox while diving forward attempting to catch a line drive.

Harrison Bader

Bader rehabbed at High-A Palm Beach and Triple-A Memphis before rejoining the Cardinals as they open their road trip in Colorado. He is the last of St. Louis’ starting position players to come off the injured list, finally putting the offense at its true full strength.

Secondary impacts include the return of Tommy Edman to second base from right field and the move of Dylan Carlson for center back to right field.

Nootbaar

To make room on St. Louis’ 26-man active roster, the Cardinals optioned outfielder Lars Nootbaar to Memphis following Wednesday’s game. In his MLB debut, the 23-year-old slashed 160/.214/.240/.454 in 28 plate appearances over nine contests.

Lars Nootbaar

Before his first-ever call-up to the Cardinals on June 22, the former USC Trojan was slashing .329/.430/.557/.987 with five home runs and 17 RBI with Memphis.

Perhaps with an eye toward these moves, the Cardinals released outfielder Matt Szczur on Monday. Other outfielders on Memphis’ active roster are Lane Thomas, Justin Williams, Scott Hurst and Conner Capel. Coulter also has considerable outfield experience.


For more

To track the status of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster as well as all players in the system by position and level, check out the Roster Matrix, always free and updated here at The Cardinal Nation. Also included is every player transaction across the full organization all year long.


Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation

Springfield Cardinals Notebook – 2021 Week 8


Now Available – 2021 Cardinals Prospect Guide

Now available, The Cardinal Nation 2021 Prospect Guide is back for a fourth year. It includes over 250 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of color photos.

TCN’s 2021 Cardinals Prospect Guide – Now Available!


Not yet a member?

Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.

Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.

© 2021 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.