Cardinals' Shortstop Hopes Gold Glove Can Help Salvage Frustrating 2026 Season

When X-rays revealed a fracture in Masyn Winn’s left thumb and the St. Louis Cardinals shortstop was forced onto the Injured List on Aug. 24, he boldly predicted he was return as soon as the necessary 10 days had transpired.

Because of the lingering pain and stiffness in the thumb, Winn couldn’t return until Sept. 8 – and even that return felt rushed when Winn had to sit out again the next afternoon because of the aftereffects of the injury. Winn played mostly in pain over the next two weeks before the Cardinals had to scratch him from the starting lineup and ultimately shut him down for the season on Saturday.

For the 24-year-old Winn – someone who openly despises missing games – it was the second straight year that his season ended prematurely because of injury in Milwaukee. The lingering pain in Winn’s thumb made gripping the bat sometimes difficult for Winn, and it showed up in how he performed at the plate over the last month. In 14 games in September, Winn went just 6 for 38 (.158) with only two extra-base hits (two doubles) and five RBI with 11 strikeouts.

The poor finish was emblematic of a season full of struggles for Winn, who ended 2025 with an arthroscopic knee surgery that he thought would allow him to perform better in 2026. However, Winn slashed just .232/.308/.317/.625 with 21 doubles, only five homers and 56 RBI. His career-high 116 strikeouts and his lack of production caused his OPS+ to dip to 81 – down from 92 a season ago and down dramatically from a career-best 104 in 2024.

Despite those offensive struggles, Winn is still a heavy favorite to repeat as the National League’s Gold Glove winner at shortstop. Winn’s 19 Outs Above Average is the fourth-most in MLB, trailing only Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cardinals’ second baseman JJ Wetherholt with 25 and Bobby Witt Jr. at 22.

Still, the lack of offense – particularly over the final month when his thumb was a major issue – bothers Winn.

“I take a lot of pride in it and defense is clearly my thing,” said Winn, who started slowly defensively, but has thrived of late while committing just 10 errors in 565 chances. “I wish I had a little more (production) on the offensive side this year, but defensively I’m going to go out there every day and do what I do. Last year was a great year and I was able to carry it over into this year. It’s just about me helping the team win anyway that I can and defense is the best way I can do it.”

Winn, who has often been compared to Cardinals legendary shortstop Ozzie Smith, is hopeful that he can win another Gold Glove to help ease the pain of a season full of offensive struggles and a season-ending injury.

Winn said he won’t be worthy of the comparisons to Smith until he has more hardware in his trophy case.

“Everybody wants to talk about me and Ozzie Smith, but he’s got 13 (Gold Gloves),” Winn said. “I’m hoping by the end of my career I can at least cut that in half and get six or seven. That’s my goal for now. I want to go out there every day and be the best defender I can be, and whatever comes at the end of the year (in terms of awards) comes. But’s it’s always good to be rewarded with some hardware.”