Cardinals Star Shortstop Not Expected To Miss Much Time Despite Back Spasms

The St. Louis Cardinals came into Sunday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies with a record of 6-8, sitting in fourth place in the National League Central division and 2 1/2 games back of the first-place Chicago Cubs.

The Cardinals were dealt a tough blow during Friday's game when Masyn Winn left with back spasms. He was subsequently placed on the injured list before Saturday's game.

For now, Thomas Saggese and Brendan Donovan will split time at shortstop. However, Katie Woo of The Athletic notes that the Cardinals aren't expecting to be without their star for too long despite the injury.

"Winn’s back spasms aren’t believed to be serious, but Marmol said Winn would have missed more than two games, and the team didn’t feel comfortable playing shorthanded for longer than that," Woo reported on Saturday.

"While back injuries are finicky, the Cardinals do not believe Winn will miss much time based on his prior stints."

Winn dealt with back issues for much of the 2024 season and even needed a few days off from time to time. On Friday, it reached a breaking point, and the Cardinals were forced to act in order to allow Winn time to heal and get back to full strength.

Fortunately, the injury doesn't appear to be serious, and the Cardinals made the smart call by putting him on the IL and opening up a spot for Nolan Gorman to return from his hamstring injury.

It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals navigate this.

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