Masyn Winn's left thumb injury was upgraded to a fracture on Tuesday by the Cardinals, who put the Gold Glove shortstop on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Aug. 22). Nolan Gorman, who had been banished to Triple-A Memphis because of strikeout issues, returns. He hit seven HRs in August for Memphis.
The St. Louis Cardinals upgraded the injury to Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn to a fractured left thumb, an injury that landed him on the 10-day Injured List on Tuesday before the club hosts the Baltimore Orioles.
Winn, 24, injured the thumb sliding head-first into second base Aug. 18 – a game where he had a homer and two doubles for the first three extra-base hit game of his MLB career. Winn started on Aug. 19 in Cincinnati, but he had trouble swinging the bat and went 0 for 4 with a walk. He was out of the starting lineup over the next four games because of a “sore thumb,” and he was unable to grip a bat, but he did play two innings in the field defensively.
The Cardinals made Winn’s appearance on the 10-day Injured List retroactive to Aug. 22, meaning he could potentially return on Sept. 1 for the club’s game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Being able to grip the bat firmly will likely be the final hurdle that Winn will have to clear before being able to return to the active roster.
Nolan Gorman, who has seven home runs and has driven in 14 runs in August for Triple-A Memphis, was recalled to the Cardinals. Gorman, 26, has shuttled between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis for much of the past four years because of strikeout issues.
Gorman hit seven home runs and had four doubles and 26 RBI in 62 games with the Cardinals, but he was optioned to Memphis after hitting just .194 with a 32.3 percent strikeout rate (74 Ks in 229 plate appearances).
Gorman’s swing-and-miss issues followed him to Memphis, where he struck out 73 times in 201 plate appearances (36.3 percent). He hit 13 homers in 46 games – with seven of those home runs coming this month.
Winn had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last September, and he hoped that would help him make major strides at the plate and on the bases in 2026. However, he has hit just .238 with a .640 OPS this season. He has 19 doubles, five homers and 51 RBI, but he is eventually hoping to get back to where he was in 2024 when he batted .267 with 32 doubles, 15 home runs and 57 RBI.
Winn won the National League’s Gold Glove award in 2025 after committing just three errors in 501 defensive chances. He has rebounded nicely following a sloppy start to the season defensively, and he has committed just eight errors in 513 chances. He’s also been a part of 86 double plays – many of them while teaming up with Cardinals standout rookie JJ Wetherholt, the favorite to win the NL’s Gold Glove at second base this season.
Wetherholt, who has filled in nicely for Winn at shortstop, will handle the bulk of the time at shortstop until Winn returns from the Injured List. Wetherholt has played 122 games at second base and eight at shortstop in 2026. He has just two errors in 491 chances at second base, and he has not committed a miscue in 29 total chances as the Cardinals’ shortstop.
Wetherholt ranks third in MLB in Outs Above Average with 22, trailing only Royals star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (24) and Cubs star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (23).Wetherholt’s 22 OAA are double that of the next closest second baseman – Luis Arraez (11). As for Winn, his 15 Outs Above Average rank eighth in MLB and second among NL shortstops, trailing only Dansby Swanson’s 16. Both Swanson (oblique strain) and Winn (fractured left thumb) are on the Injured List.
