The St. Louis Cardinals will be without outfielder Lars Nootbaar at least through the first two months of the season after he was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
Nootbaar underwent surgery in October for bone spurs in both heels that affected the Achilles tendon. His recovery timetable projected him to be available by Opening Day, but Nootbaar never appeared in a spring training game and only started to do more intense running last week.
The move to the 60-day injured list opens a 40-man roster spot for St. Louis to finalize its Opening Day roster.
In a career high 135 games last season for the Cardinals, Nootbaar batted .234 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs. Over five major league seasons, all with the Cardinals, the 28-year-old is a career .242 hitter with 58 home runs and 194 RBIs over 527 games.
The Cardinals will open their season Thursday at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.
