It’s no secret that Masyn Winn is an elite defender. The Gold Glove trophy on his mantle is proof, but how much offense does he need to produce to become a part of the St. Louis Cardinals core? You need look no further than Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith as he and Masyn share a similar trajectory and challenge.
Masyn Winn’s first full season in the majors in 2024 was an impressive one offensively as he had 15 home runs and a respectable .267 batting average with 57 RBI’s. He regressed in 2025 with 9 home runs, 51 RBI’s and a .253 average. The fall back was attributed to a nagging knee injury which he had arthroscopic surgery on during the offseason. For the first 19 games of the 2026 season, Masyn only has 10 hits in 53 at-bats with a .189 average. Yes, the 2026 sample size is still very small, but it doesn’t take a math genius to understand that Winn is trending the wrong way offensively.
If you look at St. Louis Cardinals legend Ozzie Smith’s career, you will see a similar first few seasons. His rookie season with the San Diego Padres had a respectable offensive line of 152 hits and a batting average of .258 in 1978. In the 3 seasons that followed, Ozzie’s production dipped to batting averages of .211, .230 and .222. His trajectory took an immediate jump in 1982 when Smith was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Why? Answer – Whitey Herzog’s approach to small ball. Herzog felt that Ozzie Smith was trying to do too much. Whitey knew that Ozzie would never be a power threat so he made a wager with him for the 1982 season. Herzog would pay Smith $1 for every ground ball he hit. Smith had to pay Herzog $1 for every fly ball he hit. Ozzie’s average in 1982 jumped up to .248. By 1985, Ozzie Smith’s average was .276 followed by .280 in 1986 and .303 in 1987.
Does this mean that Masyn Winn should take Whitey Herzog’s approach of adjusting his swing for more ground balls? Absolutely not. In 1982, Busch Stadium was artificial turf and Whitey was able to create a speed offense that took advantage of that surface. In my opinion, the life lesson is that Masyn Winn may be trying to do too much. Friday night’s game against the Houston Astros was a great example of how Masyn could contribute more offensively adding to his already stellar defensive value. With the bases loaded, he was able to guide a seeing eye single through the left side of the infield giving the Cardinals 2 very valuable runs. Baseball Reference shows that Masyn’s pull rate is up significantly in 2026 compared to his previous 2 seasons. I have to wonder what his results would be if he would start utilizing a line drive approach to all fields.
It’s difficult to compare Ozzie Smith and Masyn Winn’s eras since they’re so different, but I believe the principle of not trying to do too much with your abilities is universal. Now that his knee is healthy, I’d love to see Masyn Winn’s offensive production rise to a level where he can be a solid part of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup. Whitey Herzog used to say that Ozzie Smith’s defense took away 2 hits per game from the opposition which made him more valuable than most hitters. I would not say anyone has the defensive capabilities of Ozzie Smith, but Masyn Winn is already a Gold Glove defender. He doesn’t need much more offense to establish himself as a part of the team’s core moving forward. All he needs to realize is that he doesn’t need to do too much with the bat.
