With Lars Nootbaar decision, could St. Louis Cardinals trade Luken Baker?

The St. Louis Cardinals had to make a roster move on Monday when Lars Nootbaar was activated from the injured list, but did the club tip its hand about the future of Luken Baker with its transaction?

St. Louis Cardinals: Could Luken Baker be more valuable to team as trade chip?

Prior to being called up by the St. Louis Cardinals on June 4, the 26-year-old Baker was tearing apart Triple-A pitching, slashing .313/.434/.641 with a wRC+ of 165 in 244 plate appearances. Picked in the second round of the 2018 MLB draft, Baker was added to the team in the hopes that he could provide some additional power for a Cardinals team that desperately needed some kind of spark.

Baker, however, rarely got the chance to make an impact, piling up just 14 at-bats during his MLB stay. He did go 4-for-14 in his limited chances (with three games at designated hitter and one inning at first base), but it was apparently difficult for manager Oliver Marmol to find enough at-bats for him in a crowded space at designated hitter or first base under the Gateway Arch.

Simply put, there wasn’t a place for Baker in St. Louis … but will there be in the future?

At Triple-A, Baker has been playing first base, a position where he seems to be blocked in St. Louis by reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt, who is rumored to not be on the trading block this season, even if the Cardinals can’t get back into the postseason chase. With Goldschmidt under contract for another season, could the Cardinals find more value in Baker if they trade him away for controllable pitching at the MLB trade deadline? It’s a possibility as Baker’s value is skyrocketing and St. Louis will definitely need to rebuild its pitching staff if it is to be successful next season.

With talk that the Cardinals could use Jordan Walker at first base in the future, Baker could potentially find himself getting a real chance to play at the MLB level with another team should St. Louis choose to trade him.