The Cardinals need to protect Masyn Winn from himself

In what is becoming a frustrating theme for the St. Louis Cardinals, another key member of their position player core has been battling an ailment for quite some time that seems to be impacting his performance, and yet they continue to let the show go on.

I do find it ironic that they've been so careful with their rotation this year to avoid injuries or further damage to a player, and yet when it comes to position players like Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Arenado, and now Masyn Winn, they don't operate with the same kind of caution.

Winn was removed from Sunday's lineup due to a knee issue that has been bothering him since prior to the All-Star break. For a guy who has also dealt with back issues already in his career and called his knee "jacked up" earlier in July, you would think that the club would exercise more caution with arguably the most important position player currently on their big league roster.

The Cardinals have to start protecting Masyn Win from himself, for the sake of him and the team

I totally understand that Winn is a gamer and wants to be playing. That's great, and it's what makes him a guy you want to build around, but as an organization, it is your responsibility to know when to step in and protect the player from themself. Frankly, in a lost season like 2025 has been for almost two months now, you would think the club would want to prioritize keeping Winn healthy for his long-term outlook with the club.

I also understand that Winn is vying for his first career Gold Glove and potentially the Platinum Glove award, but again, for as awesome as those accolades would be, Winn's long-term trajectory matters so much more.

We don't know when exactly Winn first experienced his knee issue, but through the month of May, Winn posted a 123 wRC+ and .788 OPS in 194 plate appearances. Since the beginning of June, though, Winn has had a 78 wRC+ and .630 OPS in 292 plate appearances, a huge drop off in performance at the plate.

After getting some time off during the All-Star break and an injection in his knee, Winn started the second half on a heater, posting a 156 wRC+ and .906 OPS on a .405/.405/.500 slash line in 11 games. But once again, since that brief hot stretch, things have taken a dip for Winn at the plate, as he is batting .192/.259/.308, amounting to a .567 OPS and 61 wRC+.

Yes, Winn's defense is indispensable to this team. He's the best defensive shortstop in baseball and arguably the best defender at any position in the game right now. That alone carries a ton of value, but with significantly diminished results at the plate right now, one has to wonder what an IL stint could have done and could still do for Winn's performance. Even when a player is playing as well defensively as Winn is, falling off this much at the plate makes it a lot harder to stomach.

First and foremost, making sure Winn doesn't "jack up" his knee any more than it already is should be priority number one. Second, JJ Wetherholt is pounding on the door for a call-up right now, and he could easily slide into Winn's spot down the stretch for however long he is out. Third, even if they did not go to Wetherholt, Thomas Saggese could benefit from the additional time at shortstop for his own development, and again, it keeps miles off of Winn's knee.

I'm not sure how much sending Winn out there every day is accomplishing, other than keeping him in the mix for the Gold Glove. Unless I'm missing something, putting Winn on the IL for however long it takes for his knee to heal up seems like the right thing to do.