Cardinals Expected to Place Masyn Winn on IL

Winn’s thumb injury stems from jamming his left thumb while sliding during the Cardinals’ game against the Cincinnati Reds on August 18. Despite playing the next day, Winn still felt discomfort in his left thumb, which has kept the young shortstop out of the lineup since August 21 and now likely until at least the start of September. X-rays of Winn’s thumb came back negative.

In 122 games this season, the 24-year-old is slashing .238/.314/.326 with five home runs, 38 RBI and an OPS of .640. Winn has also strung together a Gold Glove-caliber year. He is ranked fourth among shortstops across Major League Baseball in Outs Above Average (15), trailing only Dansby Swanson while being tied with Mookie Betts and Geraldo Perdomo.

With Winn now likely heading towards an IL stint, St. Louis is expected to call up the aforementioned Gorman to take his place on the roster. Gorman has not played in the big leagues since June 11 due to struggles at the dish.

Across 62 games this season, Gorman is batting only .194/.279/.318 with seven homers, 26 RBI and a .597 OPS. Gorman will likely play second base for the Cardinals after rookie JJ Wetherholt played the last few games at shortstop in Winn’s absence.

The Cardinals begin play Tuesday after getting swept by the Philadelphia Phillies, dropping to .500 at 66-66. They will start a three-game series at Busch Stadium today against the Baltimore Orioles. St. Louis is five games back of the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.