JUPITER, Fla. — When the Cardinals started spelunking their depth chart a year ago looking for sinkholes or potential craters, they spotted one in the middle of the field, right there behind the rookie they were counting on to emerge as an everyday shortstop.
The Cardinals sought to pair Masyn Winn with a seasoned fielder at the position, and quietly, they wanted to alleviate some of the early workload on their prized shortstop because of back pain that lingered through spring training. They signed Gold Glove Award winner Brandon Crawford, and 13 of his 16 starts at shortstop came in the Cardinals’ first 72 games.
This season, the calculus has changed, what the Cardinals want in that role has changed and how they are setting up the big league bench has changed. Winn’s experience and his expectations are not the same.
And his backup may not be within arm’s reach.
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“When we go into last year, we knew we wanted a couple of things to happen,†manager Oliver Marmol said. “We wanted protection, and then we wanted someone who could walk alongside Masyn from a veteran standpoint. Look at this year — and he is set on playing 162 games. That is one of his goals to just play every day. We look at that a little differently now.â€
At the same time, they’re choosing between Jose Fermin and Jose Barrero for a spot on the opening day bench, a wellness check of the Cardinals’ depth at shortstop surfaced this week. Winn was scratched from a start Tuesday and limited his activities because of a sore right wrist. He felt the discomfort during fielding exercises, and Marmol made the “precautionary†move to sit the shortstop.
Winn participated in batting practice on the main field Wednesday without apparent limitations, and the Cardinals had no reservations of him taking game at-bats in the minors if he wished. He took part in fielding drills but limited his throwing without unleashing a game-speed toss. Marmol said the plan is for Winn to return to the lineup after Thursday’s off-day, when the Cardinals begin the sprint toward ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ with two split-squad games Friday.
The Cardinals have insisted they’re not concerned about Winn’s availability a week from Thursday for opening day, but as they finalize their roster for the opener against Minnesota, the club is giving a glimpse of how it sees the depth at shortstop.
The bench is likely set to handle a short-term absence.
Class AAA Memphis would house the longer-term answer.
Fermin, who is set to win the open utility fielder role in the majors, started at shortstop Wednesday. It was the third different position he had played in three games, and he continued to hit at each one. Playing time is revealing. Fermin followed a pair of doubles Monday with a home run Tuesday and a 1-for-3 game in the Cardinals’ 7-1 victory against Washington at Roger Dean Stadium.
Barrero, whose defensive nimbleness and athleticism has been lauded all camp, played the final three innings of the win at shortstop.
The Cardinals’ approach was right there in the box score.
If the Cardinals are comfortable calling on Fermin at shortstop in limited use, they could position Barrero as the backup by starting regularly at the position in Triple-A Memphis. He’d remain ready should the Cardinals require a starting shortstop. The way the Cardinals currently have their informal depth chart arranged has Barrero as the top shortstop behind Winn in case of extended absence. After Barrero, that depth chart thins quickly until arriving at top prospect JJ Wetherholt, who was drafted seventh overall this past July and played as high as Low-A.
Headed into the closing week of exhibition games, Marmol said he wanted to see Fermin, Barrero and Michael Helman appear at shortstop more as part of the utility contest. Fermin now has, Barrero has been all along and Helman was optioned this past week to Class AAA. Fermin has risen to the leading spot with his knack for contact at the plate — something that Barrero has adjusted his swing this spring to do more often and continues to practice.
“When you look at his value or Barrero’s value or Helman’s value — that group of guys who were here — it’s extremely versatile,†Marmol said. “So being able to play third, second, short, go play center, go play left is important. That is something they’re capable of doing, yeah.â€
Marmol was asked Wednesday morning if playing shortstop for a long stretch was essential like last season, or if the Cardinals saw the utility role as more spot starts.
“No different than any other team’s utility guy,†he said.
There is, of course, the added wrinkle of service time and contract status.
A top prospect with the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he made his debut in 2020, Barrero signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals this past offseason, and he is out of minor league option years. Committing an opening day roster spot to him means doing so for a while or risk losing him on waivers during any attempt to put him in the minors.
If he starts there, it buys some time for the Cardinals and his swing changes. The 26-year-old does have clauses in his contract that will allow him later in the season to seek a better opportunity if he’s not convinced he’ll get that same chance with the Cardinals.
Barrero has “all the actions†of a shortstop, as coaches say, and he’s shown both range and reliability at the position to go with solid play in center field, too. Barrero said earlier this spring that he enjoys shortstop because “that’s who I’ve been, that’s my position.â€
Fermin, 25, has had to work to improve at shortstop.
“He’s taken some good steps in his angle to the ball,†Marmol said. “He’s aware that his arm strength isn’t his strength. So he’s going to have to take certain angles and approaches to the ball that give him a better shot. And he’s done a much better job of knowing what they are and taking them into a game.â€
It was not long into the season that Winn did exactly as the Cardinals hoped — secured the starting job at shortstop and responded to their plan to alleviate his back discomfort. He finished the season with 150 games played. He started 143 games at shortstop, and by the time he’d finished the 1,285⅓ innings, Crawford was no longer on the roster, released later in the season. Winn punctuated his rookie year as a finalist for the National League Gold Glove.
That too is one of his goals for 2025.
Being an everyday player is the start.
“Last year, we went into it hoping he would take that position and run with it, but if something were to happen we wanted to make sure we still had an option,†Marmol said. “Protection — that was the whole Crawford conversation. We feel very confident about what (Winn is) able to do at short moving forward.â€
