The St. Louis Cardinals will be without their starting shortstop, Masyn Winn, for the remainder of the regular season due to a knee injury.
The news broke Friday night, with multiple reporters — including Katie Woo of The Athletic — confirming that Winn will be shut down for the rest of the 2025 MLB season.
“Masyn Winn’s season is over, Oli Marmol announces. Winn was hoping to play in front of home fans next week in the final homestand, but the knee was not recovering well enough, and the team made the decision this evening to shut him down for the season,” Woo said.
Unsurprisingly, news of Masyn Winn’s season-ending injury quickly sparked speculation on social media about who would take his place on the roster. Before the conversation could gain too much steam, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that José Fermín will be called back up to the Cardinals to fill Winn’s spot.
The St. Louis Cardinals had to make a difficult decision
“José Fermín will return to the Cardinals as Masyn Winn goes on the IL, his season over. He made a strong bid for his first Gold Glove Award,” Goold said. “He’ll have arthroscopic surgery in near future to repair damage to the meniscus. Cardinals say it should not interrupt his prep for 2026.”
The decision to call up José Fermín makes a lot of sense. The 26-year-old is a three-year MLB veteran who’s performed well in limited action with St. Louis this season, slashing .273/.360/.386 over 22 games. He offers reliable depth off the bench and is a steady option as the team navigates the final stretch of the season without Masyn Winn.
There’s also been growing buzz around top prospect JJ Wetherholt, and with shortstop now vacant, many fans were hoping for his promotion. However, Wetherholt recently missed some time with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds due to soreness. While it’s tempting to give the young star a shot, promoting him while he’s not fully healthy wouldn’t be ideal — especially with the added pressure and intensity of the major league level. For now, it appears the Cardinals are choosing caution and experience over a potentially rushed debut.
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