6 Cardinals you didn't know were two-way players at one point

Masyn Winn

While Crawford may have enjoyed his time on the mound, his counterpart at shortstop did not. When speaking to writers and bloggers at Winter Warm-Up, Winn noted that he begged manager Oliver Marmol to take the mound in that same blowout loss versus Washington, but the Cardinals skipper declined in an effort to preserve the youngster's arm. After all, who could expect a budding shortstop with triple digits up his sleeve to lob 45 eephus pitches down the middle?

Unlike Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn does have professional experience pitching. Drafted as a two-way player out of high school, Winn got a brief chance to pitch in the lower levels of the Minors before transitioning to a full-time shortstop later on. He did only face three batters but recorded a strikeout without allowing a baserunner for Peoria in 2021.

Steven Matz

Almost every pitcher on the Cardinals roster was once a two-way player in high school, so I'll spare the details and hone in on a few who are of particular interest, starting with Steven Matz. Matz holds a few unique Major League hitting records, all for his stellar debut. He allowed just 2 runs in 7.2 innings of work, but he truly shined at the plate. Matz went 3-for-3, smoking a double and two hits, driving in four runs, becoming the first pitcher to record three hits since 1911 and the first pitcher to drive in four runs ever.

This was success he carried over from his time as a two-way player in high school, where he hit .408 with 9 doubles, 6 homers, and 34 RBIs in his senior year. Unfortunately, Matz would not carry this offensive success over for the rest of his Major League career, as he would finish with just a 22 OPS+ before the National League adopted the universal DH. But, his Major League debut with the New York Mets will forever remain one of the more random records set by a pitcher swinging the bat.

Michael McGreevy

When asked at Winter Warm-Up, Michael McGreevy didn't envision his Major League debut the way it went down. After all, throwing 7 innings of one-run ball against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers was too good to be true, right? Even as a kid, Michael McGreevy didn't envision that happening. Well, not really. Instead, he envisioned hitting a home run in his MLB debut.

In high school, McGreevy was a great pitcher but also a great shortstop, hitting .313 with a .857 OPS in his senior year. In fact, the Cardinals' newest rotation hopeful reminisced on getting a hit-off top pitching prospect and Memphis teammate Quinn Mathews.

Unfortunately, McGreevy wasn't a good enough hitter to stick in college at UC Santa Barbara and instead stuck with pitching well enough to be selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2021 draft. But who knows? Maybe he's still good enough to knock a base hit off Quinn Mathews today.

Jacob Bosiokovic

Bosiokovic probably fits in the category of "Cardinals players you didn't know." In fact, he spent just five days on the active roster and didn't make a single relief appearance. However, Jacob Bosiokovic's journey is as inspiring as it is unique. Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2016 as a corner infielder, he was converted to a pitcher in 2018 after ineffectiveness in the Minor League system.

While Bosiokovic was never truly a two-way player, pitching and hitting at the same time, his ability to do both at the professional level deserves recognition here. The Cardinals selected Bosiokovic in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in 2019, and he split time between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2021 and 2022 before electing free agency and playing independent ball in 2023. He then returned to the Cardinals in 2024 on a minor league contract and was called up for a brief stint in the Major Leagues. However, he was designated for assignment and outrighted after the team needed Michael McGreevy for a spot start.

Hopefully Bosiokovic, who is currently a "phantom ballplayer," can make his return to professional baseball soon and get his shot in a Major League bullpen. The 31-year-old has been hard at work this offseason and certainly deserves a shot in 2025.