The St. Louis Cardinals continue to mismanage the injured list

Masyn Winn has been scratched from or has sat out of the St. Louis Cardinals' last four games. He missed the entire series against the Seattle Mariners, and he didn't play in the series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Winn's knee has been bothering him since the All-Star break, and it's been reported that he has a torn meniscus; Winn will have surgery this winter to deal with the ailment. He's expected to have a normal offseason and start the 2026 season on time.

Masyn Winn is not the first Cardinal to sit out multiple games in a row and not hit the injured list this year.

In early July, Nolan Arenado missed multiple games in a row without being put on the IL. He played on July 4th, July 9th, July 10th, and July 11th before missing a week and playing again on July 18th. Arenado remained on the active roster this entire time despite playing poorly and playing hurt, and that forced manager Oliver Marmol to play with a short bench in a key stretch during the season.

Arenado was eventually placed on the IL on August 1st due to a shoulder strain, an injury that had been nagging him for weeks at that point. St. Louis went 4-8 in early July leading up to the All-Star Game.

In early August, both Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras missed multiple games due to injuries. Donovan and Contreras played in only one game against the New York Yankees in mid-August. Donnie missed two games in the series prior against the Chicago Cubs along with making only one appearance in the series against the Colorado Rockies just before the Cubs series. The Cardinals went 3-6 in those three series.

Rather than placing either or both players on the Injured List in early August, John Mozeliak once again opted to make Oli Marmol play shorthanded. That lack of flexibility clearly played a factor in the team's overall performance.

Far too often have the St. Louis Cardinals played shorthanded rather than place a player on the injured list.

The instances where Arenado, Contreras, Donovan, and Winn have stayed on the roster despite clearly being hurt and underperforming have been detrimental to the team. There's a strong chance that these four have been able to stay on the roster and try to play through the pain due to their veteran statuses, particularly in the cases of Arenado, Contreras, and Donovan.

While it's true that players know their bodies quite well, their competitive spirts can also get in their own way. Nolan Arenado takes pride in his ability to stay off the IL. Willson Contreras is one of the most fiery players in the league. Brendan Donovan is a leader on the team. Each of these players has something to prove on the field, so going on the IL would prohibit them from doing so.

In the case of Masyn Winn, having surgery now and starting the offseason early is clearly the best choice for the 23-year-old shortstop. However, Winn wants to win the National League Gold Glove badly. He should be a shoo-in for the award, as he currently leads all major leaguers in Outs Above Average with 22. The next closest National League shortstop is Nick Allen, who has logged 17 OAA so far. Winn is also on pace to record the highest fielding percentage in St. Louis Cardinals history for a shortstop.

Continuing to play won't bolster Winn's case substantially. At this point, the award is his. His Outs Above Average total is strong enough by itself. He's also first among shortstops in fielding percentage, sixth in Defensive Runs Saved, and fourth in assists.

The Cardinals need to protect their players from themselves more often than they have this year, and they need to utilize the injured list more to give Oli Marmol a complete roster. The front office's continual mismanagement of the roster has hurt their playoff chances this year.