Winn is cemented as Cardinals’ starting shortstop. But what about a backup?
The St. Louis Cardinals have no position on their 2025 roster more settled than starting shortstop.
Coming off a rookie season in which he was far and away the team’s most valuable position player, Masyn Winn is cemented as the starter, and the Cardinals would prefer that to be the case for the next decade. Winn, for his part, has a pronounced set of goals in considering how to elevate his game to the next level.
“If health provides, I want to play 162 (games),” he said Wednesday. “Obviously things might change later on down the road, but yeah. I want to be out there every day, day in and day out.”
That could be significant for Winn in terms of taking the next step in his career, but it’s also a goal worth noting as the Cardinals work through assembling a roster. Last spring, with an achy back troubling him, the Cardinals felt it necessary to bring in veteran Brandon Crawford as a backup to guarantee they had stability at the position should he be shelved for an extended period.
Crawford’s presence, as well as Winn’s soreness, meant that there were more intentionally scheduled off days built in for the backup early in the year. With the injury issues behind him, that spot seems now to be a great deal more flexible.
“Last year we were protecting something that didn’t feel real good at the moment, and we were trying to make sure it didn’t get worse,” manager Oli Marmol said. “He’s come in and he’s feeling really good about his body, so it’ll look different, and if anything pops up, we’ll adjust.”
There are a variety of candidates for roster spots in camp who could certainly fill in at short in spot duty if not for regular action. José Fermín, who has batted .189 in 122 at bats over the last two seasons for the Cardinals, is perhaps chief among those. In camp’s opening days, his reps for defensive drills have been at shortstop with the major league infielders, alternating with Winn.
He has not, however, played even a single inning at short in his 43 games in the big leagues, despite starting 26 games there for Triple-A Memphis last season.
“I’ve been practicing everywhere,” Fermín said. “Wherever they need me, I’ll be ready.”
That has included work in the corner outfield this winter, as well as dabbling in center. That flexibility, as well as a right-handed bat which has produced in the minors if not the majors, makes him the incumbent candidate to fill the backup slot, despite the team’s hesitation to use him there based on concerns around his throwing arm.
Michael Helman, acquired in a trade from the Minnesota Twins for cash on the eve of spring training, made his major league debut last year with three hits in ten at bats. He appeared at all three outfield spots as well as third base for Minnesota, but made a plurality for his starts for Triple-A St. Paul last year at short. With just over 570 innings at the position in his minor league career, he has the most professional experience at the position of any player on the 40-man roster other than Winn.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Helman said of his versatility. “There’s a lot of guys that, through the course of the season- like, it’s a long season. Obviously guys need days off, and just being able to fill in in all those roles and, you know, just playing my role.”
Both Fermín and Helman have the advantage of holding a spot on the 40-man roster in the Cardinals’ attempts to assemble the opening day puzzle. Jose Barrero, in camp on a minor league deal, has 97 starts at the position in the majors, having once been a top prospect for the Cincinnati Reds. Barrero, though, will have to overcome that roster barrier to make the club, as well as outplaying all of his competition.
If something significant were to befall Winn, his long term substitute would almost certainly be Thomas Saggese, a natural shortstop who made his debut last season. Saggese, in camp’s opening days, has primarily taken reps at third base behind Nolan Arenado, though that in part is simply drilling down at a position at which he has less exposure than the others in the infield.
“I think you just have more responsibilities, more ground to cover,” Saggese said of comparing shortstop to the other infield positions. His comfort there means he doesn’t feel the necessity to drill down at the spot on a daily basis, though he may well end up as the starting shortstop at Memphis regardless. Arenado’s continued presence on the roster drains away some of the at bats which might otherwise have been available in the infield, and as a young and developing player upon whom the team is pinning solid hopes, there is a real desire to make sure he doesn’t simply waste away on the big league bench.
That bench figures to feature a backup catcher and at least one backup outfielder, in addition to a player such as Alec Burleson or Michael Siani whose downstream opportunities will be limited by Arenado’s unexpected presence. That makes the Cardinals a deeper and more competitive team, but also more complicated to sketch out.
If Winn is indeed able to play 162 games, a great deal more flexibility becomes possible. A player who plays every day doesn’t need a dedicated backup, and for any number of reasons, the Cardinals would benefit greatly from Winn becoming such a player.
“More (stolen) bags, a Gold Glove, more homers, really just an improvement pretty much everywhere,” he said of his goals for the coming season. “I want to win a lot of ball games. I think at the end of the year, if I have a Gold Glove under my belt, if I have a good year offensively, I think that would be ideal.”
Being on the field every day would go a long way toward accomplishing those goals, and that’s why ultimately it stays at the top of a long, impressive list.