Masyn Winn came into the season with a robust reservoir of confidence in his abilities. Over the course of this season, the Cardinals rookie shortstop has given the club’s most-decorated veterans plenty of reasons to become believers as well.
Winn’s two-strike single in the ninth inning on Wednesday night started the two-out rally that led to Nolan Arenado’s walk-off RBI single against the San Diego Padres. Arenado, an eight-time All-Star and likely future Hall of Famer, lauded Winn’s clutch performance.
“Masyn, I think that’s the guy we want up to bat with the game on the line right now,†said Arenado, a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. “I mean, he’s just so good at getting his swing off and trying to drive a pitch.
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“Then, when he needs to shorten up, he does it. He’s just really good. I’ve been so impressed with him.â€
Winn added a pair of hits, including a home run in Thursday’s series finale as the Cardinals earned a split against the Padres in Mike Shildt’s managerial return to Busch Stadium.
Winn entered Thursday’s series finale with the Padres leading all rookies in the majors in hits (135), and he has had the most hits by a Cardinals rookies since Dylan Carlson had 144 in 2021.
His now 137 hits (including two on Thursday) also lead the Cardinals, as do his 41 multi-hit games. His seven home runs since July 26 are also a team high.
“I think one thing that just doesn’t show up in the box score is just his baseball instincts. That’s probably impressed me more than anything,†Cardinals first baseman, seven-time All-Star and former National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt said on Wednesday night. “I mean there’s lots of guys with good swings or great arms and stuff like that, but he’s got such an idea of what he wants to do when he’s hitting, and he’s made some great plays on defense. But I think it’s not just a raw, physical talent.
“Obviously, there’s a mental side to that — working before the games, after and during the games. Just to hear him talk, you can tell he’s got a really smart baseball mind. That will serve him well for a long career.â€
Heading into this weekend’s series in New York, Winn has a team-high .287 batting average to go along with a .335 on-base percentage and a .424 slugging percentage, 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 125 games.
According to Baseball Reference, Winn’s batting average increases in higher-leverage situations.
Winn had batted .265 in low-leverage at-bats, .293 in medium leverage and .313 in high leverage entering Thursday. That would support Arenado’s claim that Winn is the player the Cardinals want at the plate with the game on the line.
In the four-game series against the Padres, Winn went 9 for 17 at the plate. His at-bat in the ninth inning on Wednesday came against Padres All-Star closer Robert Suarez, who didn’t throw a pitch slower than 100 mph in that at-bat.
“It feels good,†Winn said of the praise from his veteran teammates. “I’m confident in myself, and I know that they’re confident in me as well. Having their confidence in me just makes me feel a little bit better and give me a lot more confidence at the plate. Especially against a good guy like Suarez, you have to (almost) swing with your eyes closed. I mean, he’s pretty good. But it’s super special that they think that of me.â€
Defensively, Sports Info Solutions credited Winn with the sixth-most total runs saved in the majors this season and the most by a shortstop. He’s also uncorked the seventh-fastest throw by a position player in the majors (101.2 mph).
Winn has turned 86 double plays this season, the second-most among major league shortstops. He has also made a habit of getting to ground balls in the outfield grass and still having enough arm and a quick enough release to throw out runners on plays where a hit seemed assured.
He did so in the eighth inning on Wednesday when he made a sliding stop on a ball swatted back up the middle by Mason McCoy, sprung to his feet and rifled a throw over to Goldschmidt in time to get McCoy by a full step.
“Masyn Winn has been incredible,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “The at-bats have been really good. The defense, I mean, he continues to do things other shortstops can’t do. The play up the middle — how quickly he bounces to his feet and then the arm behind it to finish that play — he made it look easy. It’s a pretty near-impossible play that he makes look routine.
“We have a really good player on our hands. He’s going to help us win for a long time.â€
Cardinals keeping roster plans close to vest
Major League Baseball team rosters expand from 26 players to 28 players on Sept. 1, which is this coming Sunday. Though Marmol has declined to give any indication of how the Cardinals will approach their roster decisions.
The Cardinals currently have two pitchers on the injured list on whom they will have to make decisions in coming days, Steven Matz and Lance Lynn.
Matz began his current minor league rehab assignment on Aug. 1. Rehab assignments come with a 30-day limit for pitchers. Matz has been on the injured list with a lower back injury since May 1. He has been on the 60-day injured list, which means the Cardinals will have to add him back to their 40-man roster when he’s activated.
Lynn is also on the injured list, and he’s set to begin a minor league rehab assignment Sunday. He has been sidelined since July 31. He has thrown a pair of live batting practice sessions at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals could also consider bringing up top hitting prospects from the minors for major league experience and evaluation, but they could also consider bringing young sluggers with big league experience such as Nolan Gorman or Jordan Walker back to the majors for the final weeks of the season.
“We’re not ready to share that yet or give thoughts on it for several reasons,†Marmol said.
Reports: Pham placed on waivers
Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham could find himself on a third team in just over a month’s span by the end of the weekend, which would mark an end to his brief return to the organization that drafted him and with which he made his major league debut.
Pham, a right-handed-hitting veteran, became one of several players across Major League Baseball placed on waivers Thursday, according to multiple reports, including one by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
The timing of the move is important in that it leaves open the possibility that another team could claim Pham and add him to its roster in time to make him eligible for postseason play.
In order for a player to be eligible for postseason play, he must have been on the club’s 40-man roster by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Aug. 31. Placing Pham on waivers allows a team to claim him and add him to its roster in time to play in the postseason.
Pham has not been released by the club, and he remains on the active roster for the time being. He was in uniform and on the bench for Thursday’s game.
The Cardinals, who selected Pham in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB draft, reacquired him as part of a three-team trade with the Chicago White Sox on July 29.