The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to shake up their outfield, but perhaps not through free agency. While Kyle Tucker and former Dodger Cody Bellinger loom large as targets for many clubs (including the Dodgers, or so people thought), a new report from The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo suggests that LA is more likely to add an outfielder via trade.

The Dodgers’ reported desire to make changes to their outfield seems serious. They’d reportedly even consider making a Teoscar Hernández trade to improve defensively, although merely shifting Hernández over to left field might suffice. In either case, LA’s search for their next outfield arrangement might involve some surprising names.

Insiders say that the Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar might enter the Dodgers’ trade radar

Dodger fans! Want Teo to shift over LF and add a legitimate RF lefty bat in the lineup that allows Andy Pages to continue to develop in CF? Look no further than versatile OFer Lars Nootbaar! His approach will play will in LA and he has relationship with Edman and Ohtani already. pic.twitter.com/VEOJ1XLqEt

— ∞ The Infinite Dodger ∞ (@InfiniteDodger) November 30, 2025

In brainstorming trades for the Dodgers, Ardaya and Woo brought up Steven Kwan, a guy LA tried in vain to snag at the 2025 deadline. They also mentioned Byron Buxton (if the Minnesota Twins would consider moving him, and if he’d waive his no-trade clause), as well as St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan, who can play in the outfield. Kwan is constantly linked to the Dodgers (most recently by The Athletic’s Jim Bowden), as is Donovan — nothing groundbreaking there.

A more surprising name Ardaya and Woo casually dropped into the Dodgers’ offseason wheelbarrow, however, was Donovan’s teammate in St. Louis, outfielder Lars Nootbaar.

Nootbaar plays all three outfield positions smoothly and carries a bat that’s capable of getting hot for stretches (and cooling off considerably during others). The 28-year-old is a career .242/.341/.406 hitter from the left side who’s never slugged more than 14 homers or driven in more than 48 runs in a season, but he could appeal to the Dodgers as an overqualified bench outfielder. LA lacked lefty bats off the bench last season.

Could Nootbaar be more than just a depth piece for the back-to-back defending champs? Some Dodgers fans might scoff at the idea of Nootbaar playing every day, especially with guys like Tucker and Bellinger still floating out there on the free agent market. The rebuttal to that stance is that Nootbaar was an everyday guy (when healthy) for a Cardinals club in 2025 that won a lot more games than people expected and were in the playoff picture for much of the season.

With all due respect to St. Louis’ roster, Nootbaar would see a heck of a lot more pitches to hit in a Dodgers uniform, surrounded in the lineup by Hall of Famers. This would bode well for his production. Nootbaar’s age and relatively young MLB career (five seasons) also suggests that his best days might be ahead of him. Nootbaar might be a sneaky-good Dodgers fit, after all.