Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn is scheduled for his arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday, the club informed reporters (including John Denton of MLB.com and Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Winn had played through a meniscus tear in the second half before being shut down a couple weeks ago. The relatively minor procedure is not expected to impact his availability for Spring Training.
Winn is wrapping up his second full major league season. His offense regressed this year, as he hit .253/.310/.363 across 537 plate appearances. Winn had a slightly above-average .267/.314/.415 slash with 15 homers and 32 doubles a season ago. The injury probably played a role in that. Winn ran a .198/.265/.281 line over his final 132 trips to the plate. The 23-year-old played through the pain while the Cardinals held out some hope for a long shot playoff berth. St. Louis eventually opted to shut him down and turn his attention to 2026.
To his credit, Winn didn’t allow the injury or his late-season offensive struggles to impact his performance in the field. He recorded 22 Outs Above Average, per Statcast. That’s second among shortstops behind Bobby Witt Jr. Defensive Runs Saved (+3) wasn’t quite that bullish, yet Winn lived up to his reputation as one of the game’s most sure handed infielders. He was only charged with three errors in more than 1100 innings at the infield’s most demanding position.
Thomas Saggese is finishing the season at shortstop. Winn will be the unquestioned starter next spring, assuming there aren’t any setbacks in his rehab process. While the Cards could entertain trade offers on a few veterans over the offseason, it’d be a shock if they seriously considered moving Winn. He’s still a year away from arbitration and under club control for four seasons.
