The Cardinals may be getting a big defensive boost just in time for a crucial stretch.
Masyn Winn, sidelined with a fractured left thumb, is expected back during St. Louis’ three-game road series against the Colorado Rockies, with Friday in Colorado listed as a possible return date.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals wanted Winn to get through another round of workouts and batting in the cage before clearing him for the starting lineup.
Winn has been out since landing on the 10-day injured list on Aug. 25, after hurting his thumb in St. Louis’ 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Aug.
- There was a chance Wednesday that he could have been back for Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that return never happened.
Even with the injury, Winn has remained one of the club’s most important players. The 2025 Gold Glove winner has struggled at the plate this season, putting up five home runs, 51 RBIs and a .238/.314/.326 slash line over 490 plate appearances in 122 games. But his glove has been steady again, with 1.5 defensive Wins Above Replacement and a .984 fielding percentage.
The Cardinals would gladly take that defense back as they try to stay alive in the wild-card race. St. Louis dropped Thursday’s game to the Dodgers on a walk-off, but still managed to take two of three from the defending champions.
Now the task is simple: keep winning.
St. Louis enters the weekend at 70-71, four games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final NL wild-card spot with 21 games left. The Cardinals also have to climb past the Miami Marlins at 71-70 and the San Diego Padres at 73-67, while the Pittsburgh Pirates sit just one game back at 69-72.
The schedule at least gives them a window. The Cardinals don’t face the Diamondbacks, Marlins or Padres again this year, so they’ll have to make their move on their own.
Their next six games come against the two worst teams in the NL standings, the Rockies at 54-86 and the San Francisco Giants at 58-83, a stretch that could help if St. Louis takes care of business.
Wetherholt is still out with a wrist ailment, but getting Winn back would be a welcome step for a team trying to hang around in September.
In Other News...
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Instead, the early returns have leaned the Cardinals way. May has labored through five starts with Milwaukee, and St. Louis has already added Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale to the farm system, giving the front office at least some reason to feel better about the deadline deal even as the big-league rotation continues to need help. For a team trying to balance present needs with future value, this one suddenly looks a little more favorable than it did in July. [Read more 🡒]