The jammed thumb that limited outfielder Lars Nootbaar’s availability in recent days ultimately cause the Cardinals to place him on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to March 31) and recall first baseman/outfielder Juan Yepez before Monday night’s game.
Nootbaar injured his left thumb while sliding into third base Thursday, in the season opener, against the Toronto Blue Jays. He’d been unavailable in each of the following two games of that series.
Nootbaar played catch on Sunday to test how his thumb reacted. The injury is on his glove hand. Before batting practice on Monday, Nootbaar said the thumb bothered him more catching than swinging the bat.