Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn had surgery to remove a cyst from his hand following the season, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak revealed at yesterday at a press conference to introduce new hitting coach Brant Brown and new assistant GM Rob Cerfolio (X link via John Denton of MLB.com). Winn recently had the stitches removed, and the minor procedure isn’t expected to impact his offseason routine.
The 22-year-old Winn was a bright spot in a lackluster season that has prompted the Cardinals to step back, focus on player development and embark on something of a reset. They’re widely expected to listen to offers on various veterans this offseason, and Mozeliak has already stated that the club’s payroll will go down next year.
None of the Cardinals’ 2024 shortcomings can be pinned on Winn. The budding star played his first full big league season and turned in a solid .267/.314/.416 batting line with 15 homers, 32 doubles, five triples and 11 stolen bases (in 16 attempts). He fanned in a well below-average 17.1% of his plate appearances and coupled that sound offensive game with excellent glovework at shortstop. Winn slumped badly in the season’s final month (.196/.234/.382) but was hitting .283/.330/.424 through Sept. 1. It’s not clear if the cyst hampered his swing down the stretch, but it won’t be an issue going forward one way or the other.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Mozeliak provided encouraging updates on right-hander Sonny Gray and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero (X link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Gray finished the 2024 season on the injured list due to right forearm inflammation but is expected to have a normal offseason. Like Gray, Romero finished the season on the shelf due to inflammation in his flexor tendon. He’s just now progressing to a throwing program that will dictate how the rest of his offseason plays out. The Cardinals don’t anticipate any additional surgeries beyond Winn’s minor procedure, according to Mozeliak.
The health of both Gray and Romero is of extra intrigue, given the Cardinals’ shift in direction. Both veterans could be candidates to be traded over the winter. Gray is entering the second season of a three-year, $75MM contract and will have his say over where or whether he’s moved, as that pact included a full no-trade provision. That, coupled with the backloaded nature of the contract, could make him a tricky trade candidate. He earned $10MM of his $75MM guarantee this past season. He’ll be paid $25MM in 2025 and $35MM in 2026, with a $5MM buyout on an option for the 2027 season. Gray, the AL Cy Young runner-up with the Twins in 2023, pitched to a 3.84 ERA in 166 1/3 innings with St. Louis this past season.
Romero is a more straightforward case. The 28-year-old is arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter — projected for a $1.9MM salary by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz — and is under club control for another two seasons. He’s coming off a career-best 3.36 ERA with a 21% strikeout rate, a 6.6% walk rate, a 48.8% ground-ball rate and 30 holds. Romero was unhittable against lefties (.181/.244/.250) but yielded a far less encouraging .264/.329/.466 line to right-handers. Still, as an affordable and relatively controllable lefty who averages 95.1 mph on his heater and is no stranger to high-leverage spots, he’d surely draw interest as the Cardinals look to boost their farm system.
Changes throughout the Cardinals organization are just getting started. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the newly hired Cerfolio will now be tasked with hiring a new director of performance and a new farm director. Cerfolio will assist Chaim Bloom in leading both departments. Goold notes that the player development and player performance departments were previously separate entities but will be more cohesive.
“It never got to the point where we got to the point it was running at 100% in terms of collaboration,” Mozeliak said of the prior player development and player performance setup. Goold’s piece includes quotes from Mozeliak on the additions of Cerfolio, Brown and outfield coach Jon Jay, detailing what drew the Cardinals to each and also further laying out the plans for additional hires. Cards fans will want to give it a read for a full preview of what’s to come in the weeks and months ahead.
With regard to the roster itself, it’s increasingly clear what direction the Cardinals will take this winter with every media availability from their decision-makers. Mozeliak has already informed several of the team’s veterans of a plan to field a younger club, Denton tweets. “Ultimately, the direction that we’re going to be going, it’s going to be creating some opportunities for our younger players,” Mozeliak said.
Blackpink in the area
Why is this site talking about how terrible the Cardinals 2024 was when ignoring the Cubs season?
Is it because there is a Cubs bias or are Cubs fans just more willing to accept mediocrity?
Both teams had the same record. The Cubs were supposed to be the better team.
RobblyDobs
Everyone is presumably aware of Tim Dierkes Cub fandom.
Blackpink in the area
I don’t mind him being a fan or Nick Deeds. But be fair. Don’t selectively post things.
I remember back in August the Cubs moved ahead of the Cardinals in the standings by a half a game and there was an article about how the Cardinals are chasing the Cubs in the standings. Cardinals had been ahead of the Cubs for months but that day they weren’t and there was a post mentioning it.
The fact is both teams have problems. If you know the Cardinals and have been paying attention the last few years you know the team can cut payroll and still win games. The Cubs on the other hand haven’t proven that in a decade. The Cubs top 6 prospects are all projected to be ready in 2025. It probably makes sense for them to trim some payroll and let the young guys play but are there articles about doing that? Of course not…..
Manfred Rob's Earth Band
You sound really sensitive
Steve Adams
Lots of teams had poor/disappointing seasons. (No one has used the word “terrible,” by the way.) The Cardinals, Cubs, Blue Jays, Twins, Mariners and Rangers among them.
Only one of those teams has publicly declared that they’re planning to take a step back, focus on player development, create opportunities for younger players, reduce payroll and overhaul the baseball operations department. That same team has also made its top baseball operations executives available via press conferences multiple times this season. The others have not.
No one here is saying the Cubs’ season wasn’t a disappointment. Anthony called it out as one after Jed Hoyer’s most recent comments. Tim called out the fact that their splashy hiring of Craig Counsell produced the same record that David Ross did a year ago and ended the piece noting that the Cubs have missed the playoffs all four years since Jed Hoyer took over baseball operations.
But in the still-nascent offseason (for 28 clubs, anyway), the Cardinals have been a more newsworthy club in terms of their shifting direction.
Blackpink in the area
I guess Steve. Just find some Cubs articles i know you guys can do that. I will say it again and i keep saying this the Cubs top 6 prospects are all projected to be ready in 2025. Either they need to let them play or they need to use them to make the big league club better. I am sure there is something to talk about on that subject.
Tired of people acting excited and gleeful because the Cardinals are planning on spending less money. That’s not what sports are about folks. If money won games the Cubs wouldn’t have finished with the same record as the aging has been Cardinals.
mlb fan
@Steve Adams…Excellent, through analysis. This is why I come to MLBTraderumors.
metsin4
Half the article was how great the Cardinals shortstop is. It wasn’t that bad.
Blackpink in the area
He is great he’s about to win a gold glove. I don’t know if he’s ever gonna be an exceptional hitter but his defense is legit.
Doug S
There was an article the other day on Nico Hoerner, did you bother reading that?
thebirds
Well.. if you knew the facts, the Cardinals were favorites to win the division at the beginning of the year. Whereas the cubs were projected to finish 3rd or 5th. That it probably why? The Cardinals underperformed more than the cubs did.
thebirds
4th*
Blackpink in the area
That’s not true. Pretty much everyone said the Cubs would win the division.
Bucket Number Six
I don’t think Fangraphs or PECOTA had the Cubs at the top before the season. It was basically five teams bunched around .500. And in situations like that, the cream usually rises to the top. So, congratulations, Brewers.
Blackpink in the area
Everyone had the Cubs at the top. Why wouldn’t they? The Cubs had the best team on paper.
Bucket Number Six
mlb.com/news/mlb-2024-projected-standings-breakdow…
Blackpink in the area
I am a Cardinals fan I thought the Cuba had the best team in 2024. Not sure why someone would think otherwise.
Squeeze32
This is a news aggregation post for a press conference that the Cardinals had yesterday. You seem to believe that MLBTR keeps going out of their way to write opinion pieces bashing the Cardinals when they’re instead just reporting the news.
If the Cubs had a press conference that provided insights, I’m sure that there would be an article about it.
msqboxer
Maybe because it’s an article on the Cardinals, not a Cubs vs. Cardinals. Although I would say the Cubs are headed in the right direction and the Cardinals seem to be a ship without a rudder.
Blackpink in the area
What???
What on earth are the Cubs doing that indicates they are headed in the right direction when the Cardinals arent????
That’s a dumb comment.
It’s article after article about how the Cardinals are taking a step back and reducing payroll. Where are the Cubs articles? The site is run by Cubs fans let’s not pretend they can’t come up with Cubs articles for the first time in the sites history. They can they are choosing not to.
ckc12537
the world series hasn’t even started yet, there’s plenty of time for them to cover all thirty teams once the offseason begins for all 30 teams.
yesterday they had an article covering nico’s surgery, who is a cubs player is he not?
Blackpink in the area
The article was about his surgery and was used as an excuse for why he didn’t have the year he was expected to have.
Like I said top 6 Cubs prospects all big league ready in 2025. What will the Cubs do? That’s an article. It might be in the Cubs best interest to scale payroll back and let the young guys play. Just like the Cardinals spending money doesn’t always make the team better it truly doesnt.
Bucket Number Six
Matt Shaw is probably the only one of those prospects ready for the start of 2025 and he’ll still have to prove it in spring training. The other prospects will get their chance when there is an injury or if they have obviously mastered AAA – which none of them have done yet.
The Cubs don’t need to scale payroll back because they can spend to the CBT threshold and fans will still come out to Wrigley Field even if the team has been in last place for a year or two.
Blackpink in the area
Wont fans show up regardless? Didn’t fans show up back when the Cubs spent less than the Cardinals? Of course they did. So perhaps the Cubs should go back to that business model. There’s an article……
Bucket Number Six
Wrigley Field will always get tourists and Cubs fans are a good fan base, but attendance will suffer if payroll is cut and team performance suffers. The Cubs did see attendance decline after the team was blown up in 2021.
Blackpink in the area
A small attendance decline. But they saved a lot of money. Pretty sure the Cubs are better off not spending since people will show up regardless.
mlb1225
What specifically would you like them to write about regarding the Cubs? Seems like there’s not much to report regarding the Cubs, aside from some coaching changes which the Athletic reported on yesterday.
Blackpink in the area
I just said what I think they should write about. I literally said it in the comment you are replying to.
ckc12537
this isn’t an article but it’s literally what you’re asking for them to discuss:
mlbtraderumors.com/2024/10/mlbtr-podcast-changes-i…
imagine if 27 other people started whining about their team’s coverage or lack of when the world series hasn’t even commenced lol
Blackpink in the area
Lol there’s a part in there about the Cardinals trading Contreras because they are cutting payroll. You did notice that right?
mlb1225
I was replying to your previous comment. My page hadn’t updated yet. But still, if you want coverage like that, then there are plenty of other sites that will give you exactly what you want. MLBTR doesn’t typically write pieces like you’re describing.
Blackpink in the area
Dude they definitely write pieces like the one I describe. And like you said they did mention it i just don’t do podcasts so I didn’t hear it.
The Cardinals said payroll is going to go down and young giys will play. That can happen by not bringing back Goldschmidt, Gibson and Lynn. Now why is trading Contreras being discussed?
mlb1225
I have yet to see an article discussing 3+ prospects that would have an impact on their team the next season. If so, I’d like you to point it out.
ckc12537
I found a Cubs article for you:
yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/two_chicago_cubs_prosp…
TerryTurnbuckle
Cardinals article need to come with a trigger warning so blackie pink can prepare accordingly
mlb fan
“Trigger warning”..I can see some fans feeling the way Blackpink feels. Pretty much all’s fair in the world of Fandom.
But, at the same time I feel that Steve Adams said it best, when he said the “Cardinals have been a more newsworthy club”. None of these views are mutually exclusive and there’s a bit of truth to them all.
mlb1225
MLB Trade Rumors is primarly a news/rumors site. Sure, they have articles that talk about more than just news/rumors and include things about specific active/former players, prospects, or coaches, but their primary focus is news headlines and rumors surrounding teams. Most teams aren’t very active right now, so it’s ovbious why some teams are getting more attention than usual compared to others.
spudchukar
When the Cards moved Edman, I was livid. Still am!!!
mike127
I literally read and scoured the article three times—-the word “Cubs” is not in the text in any form at all.
First comment—Blackpink–guess what–talking about the Cubs.
Seems to be an unhealthy obsession. Well, maybe not seems to be.
Blackpink in the area
You want to talk about unhealthy obsession? I have never said your name in a post that wasn’t addressing you. Not once.
Stlhomers
hey, we just saying this article was kinda abt the Cardinals.
Daryl Pauley
What is the argument about. It seemed to be about two+ people saying nothing worth reading. What a waste of time and space.
Stlhomers
amen