Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Fan Favorite Struggles In First Rehab Assignment Performance

The young St. Louis infielder is having a rough 2025 campaign
Nate Hagerty|
Sep 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) slides for a triple in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Sep 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) slides for a triple in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals' roster hasn't changed much since last season, pressuring several youngsters to step up their game if the franchise hopes to make a surprise playoff push.

Insiders don't expect much from this year's youth-laden Cardinals but fortunately, this past offseason's hiring of hitting coach Brant Brown has helped St. Louis' lineup emerge as one of the league's most productive.

If the Cardinals want to have a chance at reaching the postseason this year for the first time since 2022, a St. Louis fan favorite must fight his way through an unsettling offensive slump he's currently enduring.

Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn was sidelined for lower back spasms after being pulled from St. Louis' matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies on Apr. 11 but began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Apr. 18. Unfortunately, the homegrown star struggled in his first outing since landing on the injured list -- logging three strikeouts in three at-bats for the organization's top affiliate.

Before recently joining the 10-day injured list, Winn was batting .222 with 10 hits including one home run, three RBIs and a .603 OPS in 45 at-bats across 13 games played for the Cardinals.

Since having a breakout campaign during his first fully completed big-league season with the Cardinals last year, Winn has joined three-time All-Star Willson Contreras in looking like shells of their former selves at the plate in 2025.

Winn has remained calm and confident despite his painful hitting struggles to begin the season. The 22-year-old has taken pride in maintaining a positive attitude amid his troubling offensive start to 2025.

Although Winn's hardships at the plate are concerning, it's encouraging that he's not negatively impacting his teammates. Slumping hitters tend to drag the rest of their club down with them but luckily, that's not how the flamethrowing shortstop operates.

It'll be great to have Winn return to the Cardinals' infield after finishing his rehab assignment. However, he must soon find his swing, or else St. Louis might have to reconsider its game plan this season for the potential future face of the franchise.

More MLB: Cardinals' Oli Marmol Avoids Responsibility For Mets' Francisco Lindor's Walk-Off HR

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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