After spending a month on the injured list with an oblique strain, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar is set to begin a rehab assignment Friday at Double-A Springfield.

Nootbaar, 26, has not played since May 29, when his two hits gave him seven total hits in a span of four games as he was just starting to recover from a slow start. Nootbaar started the season on the injured list with a rib injury.

In 39 games this season, Nootbaar was batting .234 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. Over four seasons with the Cardinals, the acclaimed defensive outfielder is a career .244 hitter with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs in 322 games.

St. Louis has been without infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman all season as he nears a return from wrist injury that required surgery in the offseason.

Also on Friday, the Cardinals selected the contract of right-hander Gordon Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis and optioned right-hander Kyle Leahy to Memphis. To make room on the 40-man roster for Graceffo, left-hander Steven Matz (back) was moved to the 60-day IL.

Graceffo, 24, is set to make his major league debut after the former fifth-round draft pick in 2021 went 8-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 14 starts at Memphis this season.

–Field Level Media