Why Chaim Bloom isn't ruling out Jesus Baez as the Cardinals' future shortstop

Masyn Winn may need to watch over his shoulder, because Jesus Baez is coming. While most St. Louis Cardinals fans and media assume that Baez is set to be the Cardinals' next third baseman, there is a very real world where he pushes Winn out of the shortstop gig long-term.

No, I'm not here to report any news or start any rumors. But if you look at the trajectory both players are on, the breadth of talent coming through the system, and, frankly, how the Cardinals talk about Baez, it's hard not to see how a possible outcome here involves Winn being traded and Baez taking over.

Cardinals president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, was asked about Baez by Bernie Miklasz on the Seeing Red podcast, and while Miklasz did not pry about Baez's future as a shortstop, Bloom made it a point to suggest that's a very possible reality for one of their biggest breakout prospects.

"With Baez, another guy that had a really impressive year, this is another one where, I think at the time we were scouting him, I don't think you would have looked at him and thought 'shortstop at the big league level is in this guy's future', I would not, we're not going to take that away from him and we are not going to rule it out." And after continuing on by talking about how they want to give their prospects flexibility, Bloom said, "So we're going to continue with the shortstop [with Baez]. He has the hands for it, he has the arm for it, and even though it's a little bit of a thicker build than some shortstops, he moves better than you would think. We have people and seasoned evaluators in our organization who think that he can do it."

Nothing crazy was said there, but it was notable. And before I go further into why I thought it was especially interesting, just listen to how he talked about the future of the second base position compared to how he talked about Baez playing shortstop. I'll give the full quote for context.

Continuing where Bloom left off in the previous quote, "He also has a tool package that profiles perfectly for third base if the opportunity comes over there. You know, just for the sake of creating options, you might even see him at second base. I wouldn't that happening either, although I think, just given the makeup of our club, that's probably less likely that's where the opportunity is going to be. We got a guy that we really like [JJ Wetherholt]. I definitely would not take that off the table because he was impressive doing it [shortstop] this year and I think opened some yes, including mine, of what's possible for him at that position. And again, because the hands are so good, because the arm is so good, he can make plays that complete plays that you might not think he could be able to make. So the question is, as he keeps getting tested going up levels, is that going to continue? But we certainly are not going to put a ceiling on his ability to play there. And it's impressive what he did this year."

Let me repeat, I am giving my own thoughts on this situation, but I find it especially notable that Winn's name was not mentioned one time, not even that "we really like the guy we have there now" like Bloom did with Wetherholt, and that Bloom made it a point to stress that shortstop is very much in the cards for Baez after what he showed this past year. He still has more to prove, and Winn still has more time to develop, but the breadcrumbs are certainly there for the Cardinals to see Baez as their next shortstop, rather than just the next third baseman.

Jesus Baez gives the Cardinals a higher ceiling at shortstop than Masyn Winn

Winn is a good player. Since his first full big-league season in 2024, Winn has amassed 9.3 fWAR, which is good for 57th in all of baseball and 14th among all primary shortstops, ahead of names like CJ Abrams, Xavier Edwards, and Bo Bichette. It's good, but it's not wrong to say he hasn't been great, and that has everything to do with his declining offensive production and so far muted baserunning impact.

No one is questioning how great a defender Winn is. Over that same timeframe, he's tied for fourth in all of baseball in outs above average (43), sixth in FanGraphs Def (47.8), and tied for 14th in defensive runs saved (26). He's captured one Gold Glove, may win another this year, and was a finalist for the award in 2024. That's elite defensive value.

But Winn's 92 wRC+ is 24th among all qualified shortstops since 2024, and his production has been in decline each year at the plate. After a very encouraging 103 wRC+ during his rookie year, it declined to a 91 wRC+ in 2025 and all the way down to a 78 wRC+ in 2026. Along with that, Winn has still yet to steal more than 11 bags in a single season, and injuries have become a semi-frequent occurrence for him, taking him off the field or impacting his performance when he's still in the lineup.

There's room for Winn to have a breakout season in 2027, improving his offense by being a healthier player and improving his approach and attack angles at the plate. But if the offense does not take a step forward, or even worse, if this decline is more of who Winn is, the stranglehold he seemed to have on the job long-term does not make sense.

Baez just hit over 40 home runs in his minor league campaign (with postseason games included). That's an eye-popping number, and he does so with a really intriguing approach at the plate that is both very unique and seems to be highly effective. Sure, he's got even more to prove than Winn does right now, which is why the Cardinals aren't going to be rushing to any decisions, but as Bloom said on Seeing Red, he certainly opened eyes this year.

While Bloom did downplay the talk of Rainiel Rodriguez playing third base as being more than added flexibility, it is extremely fair to point out that, if the Cardinals want to keep finding at-bats for Leo Bernal, Ivan Herrera, and Alec Burleson long-term, somewhere like third base makes a lot of sense to find at least semi-consistent reps for Rodriguez. Baez being a potential option at shortstop also opens up the Cardinals' options for adding talent from outside the organization, as they could target a third baseman or shortstop through free agency or trade and have Baez play the other spot.

There's still plenty of projection here, but if the Cardinals live up to the hype surrounding the work they've done so far, then they are going to have a lot of talented guys coming through the system. This, in a healthy way, puts pressure on their big leaguers to continue to grow as players, as there are young studs coming hoping to win their jobs, and the Cardinals also have more payroll flexibility and a deep pool of trade assets to go out and acquire a better talent as well.

I hope Winn has a bounceback season at the plate and gives the Cardinals every reason to keep sticking with him in 2028 and beyond, but if Baez keeps up what he's doing and Winn struggles offensively, this becomes a very interesting conversation for the Cardinals front office moving forward.

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