The focal point of Masyn Winn’s outfit during his appearance Sunday at Busch Stadium during Day 2 of the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up event was no coincidence.
Dressed in the customized 2025 Blues Winter Classic jersey that has his baseball jersey No. 0 and last name featured across the back, Winn intended to show support for what the jersey reads across the front.
Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn speaks with the media on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Busch Stadium during the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up. (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)
“It’s St Louis. I’m all for it and all for this city. I love how they’ve embraced me,†said Winn, who received the jersey as a gift from the Blues when they invited him to his first NHL game in December.
As the Cardinals enter a transformative year that will put young talent such as Winn in the spotlight, the connection to St. Louis gives the 22-year-old shortstop optimism for how he can leave his mark beyond this year.
“I’m not there yet, but I’d like to, at the end of my career, be looked at as guys who — I played for one city for a long time,†Winn said, mentioning Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. “Obviously, (Albert) Pujols went somewhere else but came back, and this city just embraced him like he had never left. This city has just got so much love. I want to show that back to them.â€
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He’ll look to continue filling a regular role with the Cardinals in 2025 following his first full big league showing last year.
In a full season as the Cardinals’ starting shortstop last year, Winn batted .267 with 15 home runs and produced a .314 on-base percentage in 150 games. He started 102 games from the Cardinals’ leadoff spot. He batted .248 and produced a .290 on-base percentage in that role.
Defensively, Winn paced all major league shortstops in runs saved with 14 and was a Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalist among National League shortstops, an honor won by Colorado’s Ezequiel Tovar.
Looking at the strides he hopes to make this year, it’s on the base paths where Winn sees a way to help give the Cardinals a jolt with steals.
“For me, a big thing I’ve been working on is my speed. ... I didn’t take as many bags as I would like to last year,†Winn said. “I want to go out there and take 30 to 40, if possible. That’d be great. Even more than that if I can. The biggest thing for me has been speed for sure.â€
Rated a 60-grade run tool on a scale out of 80 by Baseball America at the start of his rookie year, Winn stole 11 bases on 16 attempts last season. Four of his steals came in games in which he hit from the leadoff spot.
The 11 stolen bases (and 16 attempts) were the fewest he’s had in a professional season since making his minor league debut in 2021. Before ending 2023 with 17 stolen bases in Class AAA and two in the majors, Winn swiped 43 bases between Class High-A and Class AA in 2022 and was successful on 32 of 37 attempts between Class Low-A and High-A in 2021.
To help him get up to speed for 2025, Winn has incorporated more stretching and hot yoga — a process he found more difficult than he initially expected — into his offseason plan. He’s also reconnected with a former track coach, and they have formulated a training regimen that has been heavy on sprinting drills that emphasize starting, stopping and accelerating.
Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn speaks with the media on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Busch Stadium during the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up. (Video by Ethan Erickson, Post-Dispatch)
Among the workout routines that have stuck out for Winn are what he described as “hamster runs,†which involve running on a treadmill until he reaches his maximum speed and needing to maintain that top speed for eight consecutive seconds.
“Running max speed at eight seconds when you already had to push it there, it’s tough. We’ll just repeat that cycle,†Winn said.
Now that the 22-year-old has had an extended run at leadoff duties in the majors, he sees how an extra base can help set the tone for the those hitting behind him to begin a game.
“That’ll help them,†Winn said. “That’ll help the team to just put more runs up on the board for our pitchers. Having them go out there with the with the lead would be great.â€
And he sees how it can bring an additional spark to a club that finished last season 22nd in stolen bases among major league teams.
“I think it was great for the team to just have a little bit of a spark plug at the top of that lineup,†Winn said. “That’s just why I want to improve going in this year, especially with my speed (in) stealing bags. We didn’t have too many base stealers last year. I think if me and Victor Scott II and even Jordan Walker, he can take some too — I think that changes the whole game.â€
Photos and videos: Sights and sounds from Day 2 of Cardinals Winter Warm-Up
Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, center, answers questions at the team's Winter Warm-up event on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Ballpark Village.
John Tiemann, 6, of Shiloh, endures the 12 degree temperature as he father Tyler snaps a photo of a snow-covered field on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Siblings Oliver,10, and Xandra Kelly, 7, of Dutchtown, mimic Championship- winning ballplayers as they lay on the rug during a tour of the the St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the team's Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Cardinals prospect Quinn Mathews poses for a photo with Brenda Highley, of Lakewood, Ill., during the annual Cardinals Winter Warm-Up event Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Busch Stadium. “I think he’s going to be our new up-and-coming pitcher,†Highley said.
Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker answers questions at the team’s Winter Warm-Up event Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Ballpark Village.
Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker answers questions at the team’s Winter Warm-Up event Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Ballpark Village.
St. Louis Cardinals 2025 Spring Training invitee Quinn Mathews signs autographs during Cardinals Winter Warm-Up at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Andre Pallante takes a photo with a fan on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
“I promised the kids I’d get a picture,†said second grade teacher Chris Loeider, who snaps a selfie with Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn after getting an autograph at the team’s Winter Warm-Up event Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Employee Natalie Atkins stands in front of the heater to warm her hands during a lull of fans entering at gate 4 on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the St. Louis Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Josh Geiler takes a family portrait, from left to right, of brothers Niall, 9, Owen, 11, and their parents Brandy and John Turek of Webster Groves at the St. Louis Cardinals' Warm-Up event on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Kevin Jordan waits in line for St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Zach Thompson autograph Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the team's Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Cardinals pitcher Zack Thompson autographs a baseball card for Wayde Menke, 7, at the teams’ Winter Warm-Up event on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, downtown.
Steven Stubblefield and his son Jaxon, 10, wait for St. Louis Cardinals's pitcher Andre Pallante to autograph a baseball on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Employee Natalie Atkins stands in front of the heater to warm her hands during a lull of fans entering at gate 4 on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the St. Louis Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals' shortstop Masyn Winn signs autographs on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Zack Thompson signs autographs on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Andre Pallante signs autographs on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Justin Lampe, 13, holds his autographed baseball signed by St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Andre Pallante on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Zack Thompson signs a baseball for Kevin Jordan on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
Kentaro Yoshimoto of Narita, Japan holds a baseball hit by St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar during Cardinals Winter Warm-Up at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Yoshimoto said he came to Winter Warm-Up from Japan because he's a fan of Nootbaar.
Leigh Ann Zaretzky and her son Ben exit the stadium with a signed bat from St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the teams' Winter Warm-Up event at Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium.
