photo: JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Three St. Louis Cardinals rank in the top three in the National League Gold Glove Award voting at their positions. Our history feature highlights memorable happenings this week in team annals.
Three Cardinals receive Gold Glove nominations
Finalists for the 2026 National and American League Gold Glove Awards were announced on Wednesday, October 14. Each positional award begins with three finalists (top vote-getters) and concludes when the winners are announced several weeks later.
Three St. Louis Cardinals players were named finalists for a NL Gold Glove Award at their position. The first finalist is RHP Michael McGreevy. Pitchers aren’t normally thought of when assessing defense, but they do play a position that requires some fielding prowess as well. McGreevy was very good in 2026 in the defense aspects of his position, recording +5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which is tied for the most among pitchers in MLB.
JJ Wetherholt was among the three finalists for the award at second base. Wetherholt led all second basemen and was second among players at all positions with +25 Outs Above Average (OOA). His competition includes the Brewers’ Brice Turang, who put up a stellar defensive campaign as well.
The third finalist is Masyn Winn, who was the winner of the 2025 Gold Glove at shortstop and eyes his second consecutive award. Winn, who was limited by injury in 2026, still put up numbers almost identical to his 2025 figures. Winn recorded +19 OAA, (+21 in 2025) which leads NL shortstops. He also leads all NL shortstops in Fielding Run Value (FRV) with +17.
All three Cardinal finalists have a better than average chance of winning their respective awards. We will learn the winners on Sunday, November 1 on ESPN.
The Big Picture
The Championship Series is winding down. The Milwaukee Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games, flipping the script from the 2025 NLCS, when the Dodgers did the same to the Brewers. The AL side of the World Series is still to be determined as of this writing.
The World Series will begin on October 23 and will conclude on or before October 31.
After the World Series concludes, eligible players will officially become free agents. At that time, the Cardinals will have to decide about their one and only free agent, RHP Ryne Stanek. Stanek has a 2027 club option in his contract, and the team will decide whether to exercise that option during the five days following the end of the World Series. It seems likely that option will be declined.
Other offseason activities include the annual player awards in each league, the first of which is the NL and AL Gold Glove Awards. The finalists for that award have been announced for all positions, and the Cardinals have three finalists. They are RHP Michael McGreevy, 2B JJ Wetherholt, and SS Masyn Winn. Winn won the NL Gold Glove at shortstop in 2025. The winners will be announced on November 1.
The annual General Manager Meetings will take place during the week of November 10th. This is the time in a normal offseason that discussions concerning offseason trades and signings first occur. This may change or be diminished due to the likely lockout on December 1.
Other offseason dates in November of interest are November 18 and November 21. On the 18th, two things occur. The first is the deadline for players to accept or reject the Qualifying Offer. The QO can be made to players during the five-day window following the end of the World Series. Also on the 18th, teams must add players to the 40-man roster that they wish to protect from the Rule 5 draft. This will take place regardless of whether the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft occurs in December.
November 21 is the tender deadline. On this date, teams must tender a contract to all pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible players. Any player who is not tendered a contract is released from the organization.
The Cardinals have nine arbitration eligible players – Andre Pallante, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson, Matthew Liberatore, Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages and Kyle Leahy. Their 2027 salaries will be determined at a later date.
Over the next few months, these and other activities will be chronicled in this space.
Stay tuned for what’s next in the offseason and beyond.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
There are no new injuries to report.
Looking Ahead
The Championship Series is winding down. The NL team that will play in the World Series was determined when the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games.
The AL team in the World Series is still to be determined as of this writing. The Tampa Bay Rays have a three games to two advantage over Cleveland Guardians with Game 6 scheduled Monday night, October 19.
The Championship Series will end on or before October 20.
The World Series begins on Friday, October 23 and runs through Saturday, October 31, if necessary.
At 9:00 am on the day following the end of the World Series, the offseason officially begins.
The winners of the Gold Glove awards will be announced on November 1 on ESPN. The Cardinals have three finalists, Michael McGreevy, JJ Wetherholt, and Masyn Winn.
The winners of the Hank Aaron Awards will be announced on November 11. Jordan Walker is the Cardinals’ nominee, given to the best offensive performer in each league.
Blast from the Past
The Postseason is nearing its final stage. The Wild Card Series, the Division Series and the NLCS are complete. The World Series will consist of NL representative Milwaukee Brewers and either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Cleveland Guardians. The 2026 World Series will be the first World Series appearance for the Brewers since they lost to the Cardinals in 1982 when the Brewers were in the American League.
The American League Championship Series will conclude on or before Tuesday, October 20. The World Series will be played beginning Friday, October 23 and will conclude on or before Saturday, October 31.
In this week’s Blast from the Past, we continue to chronicle postseason events that occurred in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals’ franchise, this time during the period of October 12 through October 18. These events are varied but of interest to fans.
The date and details of each event are noted.
October 12, 1967 – Cardinal ace Bob Gibson threw a three-hit complete game in Game 7 of the World Series against the Red Sox to give the Cardinals their eighth World Series title. The win ended Boston’s Impossible Dream, the Red Sox slogan for the season based on the musical “Man of La Mancha.”
October 12, 2012 – The Cardinals mounted a comeback from a 6-0 deficit in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Nationals. After starter Adam Wainwright gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings, the team launched a comeback of epic proportions to win the game 9-7 and advance to the NLCS. The Cardinals scored four runs in the ninth inning thanks to a double by Carlos Beltran, two walks, and singles by Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma against Nationals’ closer Drew Storen.
October 13, 1985 – On this date, the Cardinals played the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS. The Cardinals routed the Dodgers 12-2 but did so without their speedy rookie Vince Coleman. Prior to the start of the game, Coleman was standing near the automated tarp at Busch Stadium doing warmup exercises. Due to the rainy conditions prior to the game, the tarp began unreeling and trapped Coleman’s leg. Though his teammates were able to lift the tarp and free him, Coleman suffered a broken ankle and was out for the remainer of the postseason.
October 15, 1964 – The Cardinals defeated the Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series at Sportsman’s Park. This was the Cardinals’ seventh World Series title. The win crowned the Cardinals as the first team with a losing record at the All-Star break to go on to win the World Series. Bob Gibson was elected MVP of the Series, having struck out 31 batters in 27 innings pitched in three starts.
October 15, 1982 – In Game 3 of the World Series against the Brewers, Willie McGee hit two home runs to become the third rookie to do so in a single game in World Series history. He joined Charlie Keller (Yankees, 1939) and Tony Kubek (Yankees 1957) in that feat.
October 16, 1985 – The Cardinals won the NLCS over the Dodgers in Game 6 due to a ninth inning, three-run home run by Jack Clark. The Cardinals were down 5-4 entering the inning at Dodger Stadium. Following a single by Willie McGee and a walk to Ozzie Smith, Clark blasted a round tripper off the Dodgers’ Tom Niedenfuer. The Cardinals’ Ken Dayley retired all three Dodgers hitters in the bottom of the ninth to send the Cardinals to the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.
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