Injury sidelines SS Masyn Winn, 2B Nolan Gorman returns from IL
The St. Louis Cardinals put shortstop Masyn Winn on the 10-day disabled list Saturday due to lower back spasms.
In a corresponding move, the Cardinals activated second baseman Nolan Gorman (strained right hamstring) from the 10-day DL.
Winn suffered his back injury in the first inning of Friday's 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He fielded a high bouncer, avoided stepping on second base, and threw to first to retire Trea Turner. Winn left the game in the second inning and later stated that he did not want to go on the DL.
"It was similar (to the spasms of 2024). Last year was actually a little bit worse," Winn said after the game. "I've just got to get through this one after the muscles spasmed up. ... I'm probably out for (Saturday), but hopefully it feels better in a couple of days."
However, after discussing with Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, Winn agreed that rest and rehabilitation were the best course of action.
"He's a competitor, but after we talked it through, he understood that it's better to get this taken care of now instead of letting it linger for a few months," Marmol said of their conversation. "So he definitely understood that."
Thomas Saggese, who played shortstop after Winn's exit and in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Phillies, and regular second baseman Brendan Donovan are potential replacements for Winn in the lineup.
Winn, 23, has a batting average of .222 (10-for-45) with one home run and three RBIs in 13 games. He made his MLB debut in August 2023 and has a career batting average of .249 with 18 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 34 doubles in 200 games.
St. Louis drafted Winn in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
Gorman, 24, had not played since April 1 before going 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter and second baseman in Saturday's game. He has a batting average of .444 (4-for-9) with one home run and one RBI in three games.
The Cardinals selected Gorman 19th overall in the 2018 draft. He has a career batting average of .224 with 61 home runs and 162 RBIs in 318 games since the 2022 season.
"(On Friday) he was really pushing and not wanting to miss a whole lot of time and not needing at-bats with what he was doing (in the batting cages) and his running progression stuff," Marmol said of Gorman. "So he's happy that we're not stringing this along and sending him down to get at-bats. ... Even with this (Winn) move today, (Gorman) was pushing to be back. Even if this (Winn injury) didn't happen, he was really pushing us to be back today. So it worked out where we could make the move."
