Central STL News

Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn will continue to play for the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a minor meniscus tear in his right knee, according to a statement from the team on Wednesday. The club indicated that Winn will undergo arthroscopic surgery during the offseason but has been cleared by medical staff to participate in games as long as he can manage the discomfort.

Team doctors have assessed that there is no significant risk of worsening the injury by playing through the Cardinals’ final 16 games. They expect Winn to have a typical offseason and be prepared for the start of 2026, provided there are no complications.

Winn was removed from Tuesday’s lineup at the last minute, leading Thomas Saggese to take over at shortstop. The team’s depth may soon improve as Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado approach returns from their respective injuries. Donovan played six innings in a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield on Tuesday and could rejoin St. Louis by Friday. Arenado was scheduled to begin his own rehab assignment Wednesday and might return as early as Monday.

Winn addressed his decision, stating, “I want to be in there,” and added, “Obviously some stuff is probably going have to be done this offseason to help me out. But I want to finish this year as strong as possible. Just going forward, if I’m going to play the rest of this year out, maybe taking a day here and there isn't a bad idea.

“I don't know too much about knees, but I was told I probably can't do too much worse to it by playing on it.”

Asked whether his performance has been affected by the injury, Winn said: “I don't think so ... my speed might be a little bit worse, but I feel like, especially on defense, if I have to go make a play, adrenaline just takes over. And then I’ve got to deal with the repercussions for five or 10 minutes after that. But I feel like I don't think it's hurting me too badly.”

Manager Oliver Marmol commented on Winn’s communication regarding his health status: “We’ve agreed that if it’s not feeling good enough to go that we would give him the day,” Marmol said. “And he’s been amazing at communicating that.”