Cardinals promote rookie shortstop Winn, place Nootbar on the IL

Updated Aug. 18, 2023 10:30 a.m. ET

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals announced Thursday after a 4-2 loss to the New York Mets that they are promoting rookie shortstop Masyn Winn from Triple-A Memphis.

St. Louis also said it was placing outfielder Lars Nootbaar (lower abdomen contusion) on the 10-day injured list.

The Cardinals added Winn to the 40-man roster. He will take Nootbaar’s spot on the active roster ahead of Friday’s game against the Mets.

Winn, 21, who was the Cardinals second round draft choice (54th player overall) in the 2020 MLB draft. He is currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s top prospect (16th overall).

Winn is a speedy middle infielder adept at putting the ball in play, but his standout tool is his arm. He was clocked throwing 100.5 mph from shortstop during the 2022 All-Star Futures Game. No shortstop has been recorded throwing triple digits in a big league game before.

Nootbaar was hurt Wednesday. He took a foul ball to the groin area in an 8-0 loss to Oakland. With center fielder Dylan Carlson (oblique) also on the IL, the Cardinals started Tommy Edman in center against New York.

In 105 games this season at Memphis, Winn hit .288 with a .474 slugging percentage. He has 18 home runs with 61 RBI and 17 stolen bases in his first season of play at Triple-A.

He leads all of minor league baseball with 99 runs and is tied for second among Triple-A players with 128 hits.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Winn has swiped 92 bases in 104 career attempts (88 pct.) in the minors and has 20 career triples. Winn has had four separate hitting streaks of at least 10 games this season, including a career-high 16-game streak May 23-June 9.

Winn joins Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker among players from the Cardinals 2020 draft class who are now playing for St. Louis. He was the youngest player at the Triple-A level to begin the 2023 campaign.

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