USC Professional Athletes

Lars Nootbaar Hits the Ground Running in the Desert

Lars Nootbaar wasted little time making a statement for his new team. The USC product, acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, delivered his most electric performance of the week on September 15, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored in a tight 8-7 win over the Miami Marlins. The outing pushed his average to .247 and served as the clearest evidence yet that the change of scenery suits him.

The week wasn't just a one-night flash. Nootbaar also tallied two hits in the Diamondbacks' September 13 game against the Texas Rangers and drew walks in back-to-back Marlins contests on September 16 and 17, showing the patience at the plate that made him an attractive trade target in the first place. By the time Arizona faced the Yankees on September 19, he was entrenched in the leadoff spot in Arizona's lineup — a sign of the trust the organization is already placing in him.

For a Cardinals franchise that parted with Nootbaar in what drew some second-guessing, Sports Illustrated's analysis framed the deal as the right call for St. Louis' rebuild. But for D-backs fans watching Nootbaar slot into left field and immediately produce, the trade looks like a steal from the Arizona side.

Elsewhere in Trojan Nation

It wasn't a banner week for every USC alum in the majors. Garrett Stubbs — the backup catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies — found himself in an uncomfortable spotlight during a blowout loss to the Atlanta Braves on September 17. With Philadelphia's pitching staff exhausted and the game already out of hand, Stubbs was pressed into mound duty by the seventh inning as the Phillies unraveled at Truist Park. It's the kind of cameo no position player wants on his résumé, but it speaks to how badly the night went for Philadelphia as a whole.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Mayer's name surfaced in trade context this week — though not for the Red Sox. The former USC infielder was dealt from Boston to the San Francisco Giants, with Sports Illustrated and Heavy Sports both weighing in on what the move means for the Red Sox. Mayer, still developing his game at the big-league level, heads to San Francisco as Boston prioritized immediate bullpen help in return.

The Bottom Line

Nootbaar is the headliner this week, and rightfully so. His September 15 performance was the kind of multi-tool, high-energy game that defined his best moments in St. Louis — and it came right when Arizona needed a jolt. With the Diamondbacks in the thick of the playoff picture, Trojan fans have every reason to track his at-bats nightly. The rest of USC's MLB contingent had a quieter week, but Nootbaar's showing was enough to carry the banner for the cardinal and gold.

Bobby Miller Is Back in Dodger Blue

September roster expansions have a way of telling you what a team is thinking, and the Dodgers made their intentions clear this week: Bobby Miller is back. Los Angeles activated the USC right-hander from the injured list, optioning fellow Trojan Kyle Hurt to make room. To fit Miller onto the 40-man roster, the club designated Alek Thomas for assignment — a real cost, underscoring how seriously the Dodgers view Miller's return.

Miller, a former top pitching prospect who showed flashes of frontline potential before injuries derailed his 2025, now re-enters a Dodgers rotation with October squarely in its sights. Whether he's stretched out as a starter or deployed in a high-leverage hybrid role remains to be seen, but his arm being available at all is the kind of depth Los Angeles will need navigating a playoff run.

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Nootbaar Stays Patient in Arizona

While Miller made headlines with his roster move, Lars Nootbaar has been quietly doing what he does best for the NL West contending Diamondbacks: getting on base. The USC outfielder drew two walks in Arizona's Saturday matchup against Texas and added another free pass Wednesday against Kansas City. He also delivered a two-hit performance Tuesday against the Royals and drove in a run Monday, pushing his batting average from .233 to a steady .236 on the week.

Nootbaar's walk rate has long been his calling card, and in a September where lineup consistency matters more than star turns, he's providing exactly that kind of reliable on-base presence for a Diamondbacks club still chasing postseason positioning.

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Stubbs Flashes the Unexpected for Philadelphia

Garrett Stubbs is a backup catcher — but this week in Philadelphia, he showed up in the box score in the last way anyone expected. The Phillies deployed Stubbs on the mound in a 2-12 blowout loss to Atlanta on Saturday, where he worked 1.1 innings and surrendered three earned runs for a 9.64 ERA in the outing. It's the kind of appearance that only happens when a game is already lost and a manager wants to save the bullpen — but it's a line that will live in Stubbs' Baseball Reference page forever.

Away from the mound, Stubbs contributed modestly with a hit Sunday against Atlanta and scored a run Friday in the series opener. Batting at .167, he remains a depth piece for a Phillies team with its eyes firmly on the NL East title, but his willingness to take the ball in a lopsided game speaks to the scrappy utility that keeps veteran backups employed deep into September.

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Three USC alumni, three different roles — an ace returning from the IL, a disciplined table-setter in the desert, and a catcher-turned-emergency-arm in Philadelphia. The Trojan footprint in MLB's final month is wide, if nothing else.

Bobby Miller Is Back in Dodger Blue

The most significant USC storyline of the week had nothing to do with a box score — it was a roster move. The Los Angeles Dodgers activated right-hander Bobby Miller from the 60-day injured list, ending what had been a lengthy absence for the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year candidate. To make room, fellow Trojan Kyle Hurt was optioned to Triple-A, while outfielder Alek Thomas was designated for assignment.

Miller's return gives the Dodgers a meaningful rotation piece as they push through the final weeks of the regular season. It's also a notable moment for USC's MLB footprint — two Trojans were on the same big-league staff, and the chess move to bring Miller back reshuffled the deck accordingly.

Hurt had been holding his own in a relief role during the interim, posting a 4.33 ERA across appearances this week that included outings against the Cardinals (1.0 IP, 2 K) and Nationals (0.2 IP, 1 K). He was useful. He just wasn't Bobby Miller.

Nootbaar Is Doing Real Damage for Arizona

While the roster news dominated headlines, Lars Nootbaar delivered the week's most memorable moment on the field. The USC outfielder launched a grand slam as the Arizona Diamondbacks dismantled the San Francisco Giants 7-1 — a statement win anchored in part by Nootbaar's big swing.

It wasn't a one-game flash. Nootbaar was a consistent presence across the week's lineup cards, appearing in Arizona's series against the Phillies and Astros and drawing multiple walks while adding hits in each series. He finished the stretch hitting .234 — a modest average that undersells his on-base presence and his pop when pitchers make mistakes.

For a Diamondbacks team chasing postseason positioning, Nootbaar's production in left field is exactly the kind of steady, multi-faceted contribution that doesn't always dominate the stat sheet but absolutely shows up in wins.

Gilbert Heads Back Down

On the other end of the spectrum, Tyler Gilbert had a tough week. After the White Sox designated the left-hander for assignment earlier in the period to free a 40-man spot for Tommy Pham, Gilbert went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte. It's his third outright assignment, and this time he accepted it.

His final outing of the stretch — 2.1 innings against the Twins with a 12.00 ERA — didn't make a compelling case for a waiver claim. Gilbert remains a veteran arm with big-league experience, but the path back to the majors just got narrower.

Lars Nootbaar had the kind of week USC fans have been waiting for, capping a productive stretch with a standout Saturday performance that served as the exclamation point on a solid August run for the Trojans' most visible MLB representative.

Nootbaar's Big Saturday

The Diamondbacks left fielder — playing as the designated hitter — delivered his best game of the week on August 29 against the Giants, going 3-for-his-at-bats with a home run and 1 RBI while also scoring 2 runs. Arizona won the series game 9–5, and Nootbaar's bat was a driving force.

It capped what was, by any measure, a quality week at the plate. On Sunday, August 23, Nootbaar collected 2 hits and drove in a run against Cincinnati in an 11–5 Arizona loss — a productive outing despite the result. He added a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's Cubs game before logging another hit Friday against San Francisco. The Friday contest went the wrong way (Arizona fell 1–6), but Nootbaar put something on the board.

Over the week, his average climbed from .221 to .231 — modest movement, but in the right direction for a player working to establish himself in a loaded Arizona lineup alongside Corbin Carroll and a strong supporting cast.

The Bigger Picture

Nootbaar's week illustrates both his ceiling and the challenge ahead. The power is real — his August 29 home run showed what he's capable of when he gets into a groove. But a .231 average tells the story of a player who's still searching for consistency at the dish. At 27, with a full-time role as a corner outfielder and DH option for a competitive Arizona club, the opportunities are there. Weeks like this one are how he'll cement them.

No other USC alumni made a statistical dent in the brief's coverage window. Garrett Stubbs, the former Trojans catcher now with Philadelphia, appeared in the Phillies' August 26 loss to the Mariners but did not record a hit, with his average sitting at .149 — a number that raises its own questions about his role heading into September.

For USC, the MLB story this week begins and ends with Nootbaar. If the Diamondbacks are going to make a postseason push, his ability to produce games like August 29 on a more regular basis will matter. The tools are there. The question is frequency.