Central STL News

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn has become the youngest Gold Glove winner in team history, following a season where he committed just three errors and was recognized for his defensive skills. His improvement came after focusing on basic drills and fundamentals, a change he credits to instructor José Oquendo.

“When I got to pro ball, I wanted to make the [Derek] Jeter plays, do all the flashy stuff and show off my arm,” Winn said. “That was one thing that [instructor José Oquendo] stressed, and I credit all my defensive ability to him at this point. He brought everything down to the fundamentals.

“I made three errors this year and the only way I could have done that was by making the fundamental, simple play every single time. That’s made me so much better.”

Winn reduced his fielding errors from 18 last season to three in 2025. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee after meniscus damage limited him to 129 games and ended his season early in September. Now recovering in South Florida, Winn expects no physical limitations when Spring Training begins in February.

“It ended up not being as bad of a surgery as we thought it was going to be, so we’ve been able to expedite the program so that I could have a normal offseason,” Winn said. “It’s going great. I jogged for the first time this week. [The workouts] suck, but it’s good for me. It’s a lot of leg workouts -- which nobody wants to do -- but it will give me a good base for a full 162-game season. But I knew a week after the surgery that the pain I was dealing with during the season was gone.”

Before being sidelined by injury, Winn led Major League Baseball in outs above average with 21; he finished fifth overall but remained ahead among National League shortstops. His error total matched those set by Cal Ripken Jr. (1990) and Omar Vizquel (2000), tying for fewest errors by an MLB shortstop in one season.

By comparison, American League Gold Glove winner Bobby Witt Jr. had 10 errors during 2025.

Looking ahead, Winn plans to improve offensively while maintaining his defense level. He is training with teammates Jordan Walker and Iván Herrera as well as top prospect JJ Wetherholt at a baseball skills center during the offseason.

“The biggest thing is I’ve got to improve offensively and defensively stay right where I am,” said Winn. “Pretty much every offensive aspect, I regressed this year. Going forward, hopefully I’ll have a full, healthy season and I’ll have a good season under my belt [offensively].”

In 2025 he posted a .253 batting average with nine home runs and 51 RBIs but ranked lower than league averages in exit velocity and hard-hit rate according to Baseball Savant data.

Winn is now aiming for more Gold Gloves over his career after earning praise from ten-time winner Nolan Arenado and four-time winner Paul Goldschmidt.

“[Arenado] is a benchmark to look at and 10 [Gold Gloves] is ridiculous,” he joked. “But I think I can win multiple -- five, six or seven -- if I just stick to it.”