photo: Victor Scott (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Masyn Winn and Victor Scott are in the running for National League Gold Glove Awards. Three more Cardinals starters required surgery. Our history feature looks back at key postseason events this past week in team annals.
Two Cardinals named Gold Glove Award finalists
The month of November is MLB awards season, and the first to be given out are the Gold Glove Awards. This award honors the best defensive player at each position in each league, including utility player.
Several weeks before the winners are disclosed, the top three players in the scoring at each position are announced as “finalists”. For 2025, the Cardinals have two finalists, Masyn Winn at shortstop and Victor Scott in center field.
Winn, whose season ended prematurely due to a torn meniscus in his knee, still had enough innings to qualify for the award. Winn has dazzled fans with his stellar range at shortstop and his bazooka arm. He led the NL in Outs Above Average at shortstop with +21.
Scott’s speed is his special skill, as evidenced by his 30.2 sprint speed, second only to Trea Turner in all of baseball, and first among all center fielders. His +17 OAA is second only to fellow NL finalist Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The winners of the 2025 Gold Glove Awards will be announced live on ESPN on Sunday, November 2 at 7:30 CT.
News and Notes for the Offseason
While it is not officially the “Offseason” until the postseason is over, it is the working offseason for the Cardinals. In the coming months, this section will contain information and snippets of news that don’t require extensive coverage but are of interest to Cardinal fans.
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Yadier Molina (Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports) Last week we noted that former Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina had told a Puerto Rican newspaper that he was discussing with the Cardinals organization a possible return to the Cardinal dugout as a coach in 2026. Molina emphasized that nothing was concrete.
Since last week, Molina has posted on Instagram a photo of himself with an inscription indicating his interest in returning to baseball as a coach or manager in “MLB, Mexico or wherever I can continue my baseball career.”
It appears the former catcher is advertising his services to the baseball world to whomever is willing to give him an opportunity. Molina was in the dugout for two separate weekends late this season, helping St. Louis manager Oli Marmol as a guest coach.
In recent interviews, new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has been asked about Molina. He offers high praise for the former catcher, but provides no clue as to whether there are talks and if so, how serious they are.
- For those fans who are eager to continue to see Cardinal players play baseball for an extended time, the Arizona Fall League is for you. Eight Cardinal minor leaguers, five pitchers and three position players, are currently playing in the AFL for the Glendale Desert Dogs. This league will play through November 12.
Most games are available to stream on the AFL website here. It should be noted that it appears Glendale home games are not available to stream but most, if not all, road games can be streamed. Also, we have daily game recaps including box score links here at The Cardinal Nation each morning.
- “Banana Ball” will return to Busch Stadium in 2026. The Savannah Bananas are scheduled in St. Louis next year for two games. The popular entertainment baseball team will come to Busch Stadium on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22 as part of their world tour.
More information about the event and how to get tickets can be found here.
The Big Picture
The postseason is winding down. The World Series will begin this coming week and end on or before November 1. The offseason officially begins on the day following the end of the World Series.
The first thing Cardinals fans will see will be eligible free agents officially electing their free agency. For the Cardinals, only Miles Mikolas will be in this position. The team did not extend Mikolas, nor have there been any indications they intend to re-sign him. If he intends to continue pitching, Mikolas will likely need to find a home with another team.
During that first week after the World Series concludes is when teams make eligible free agents the Qualifying Offer if they intend to do so. The Cardinals have not indicated they intend to give the QO to Mikolas and it is highly, highly, highly unlikely he receives such an offer.
MLB’s annual awards are given during the month of November. The first to be announced will be the Gold Glove Awards, on November 2 in a live show on ESPN at 7:30 CT.
The Cardinals have two finalists for Gold Gloves in 2025, Masyn Winn at shortstop and Victor Scott in center field.
Winn is the favorite to win the award at his position, though Nick Allen of the Braves and Mookie Betts of the Dodgers are strong contenders.
Scott is not the favorite for the award in center field, as Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs has a stronger case and will likely be the winner.
Stay tuned for more happenings as the official beginning of the offseason nears.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no new trade rumors to report.
Transactions
There are no transactions to report.
Injury Report
The list of Cardinals starters requiring offseason surgery grew from one (Masyn Winn) to four this past week as the club made a combined announcement on three players’ recent procedures.
- Second baseman Brendan Donovan had surgery on October 7 to repair a sports hernia. Donovan had been reported to have groin issues and was shut down for the last week of the season. The recovery time for sports hernia surgery in this context is typically 8-12 weeks, which should put Donovan in good shape to start Spring Training on time.
- Left fielder Lars Nootbaar also had surgery on October 7. It was for Haglund’s deformities, which are bony enlargements on the heel bone where the Achilles tendon attaches. The surgery was on both heels. The recovery time for this surgery was not reported.
- Catcher/designated hitter Iván Herrera had surgery on October 15 to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. This surgery is minor and will not affect Herrera’s offseason preparation or readiness for Spring Training as he refocuses on catching defense during the winter.
Looking Ahead
The Postseason is underway. The Championship Series is nearing its conclusion. Representing the National League, the Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games and will meet the winner of the American League in the World Series.
Due to Toronto’s Game 6 win on Sunday, the winner-take-all Game 7 will be played in Seattle on Monday.
The World Series is scheduled to begin on Friday, October 24 and conclude on or before November 1.
The Arizona Fall League is underway and will continue through Wednesday, November 12. The Cardinals have eight players assigned to the Glendale Desert Dogs – RHS Chen-Wei Lin, RHR Darlin Saladin, RHR Tyler Bradt, RHR Randel Clemente, RHR D.J. Carpenter, C Graysen Tarlow, OF Miguel Ugueto, and OF Travis Honeyman.
At 9:00 a.m. the day following the end of the World Series, the offseason officially begins.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues highlighting notable events that occurred in the history of the franchise during a relevant period. This is postseason time and the events chronicled here will primarily be about past playoff occurrences.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during the period October 13 through October 19 and focus on records set or broken or other notable events, transactions, or other unique occurrences.
For each activity, the date of the event, the individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
October 13, 1985 – On this date, the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 12-2 in Game 4 of the NLCS to even the series at 2-2. Before the game began, rookie center fielder Vince Coleman caught his leg in the automatic tarp, injuring him and keeping him out of the remainder of the postseason.
October 14, 1985 – On this date, in Game 5 of the NLDS with the game tied at 2-2 going into the ninth inning, switch hitting shortstop Ozzie Smith hit a solo home run from the left side of the plate to give the Cardinals the walk off win against the Dodgers. This long ball was the first home run hit by Smith from the left side of the plate. This home run prompted broadcaster Jack Buck to make his famous call, “Go crazy folks! Go crazy!”.
October 15, 1946 – On this date, right fielder Enos Slaughter made his “mad dash” to home plate in Game 7 of the World Series to beat the Red Sox 4-3.
October 15, 1964 – On this date, the Boyer brothers, Ken of the Cardinals, and Clete of the Yankees, each hit a home run in their last at bat in Game 7 of the World Series.
October 17, 2005 – On this date, first baseman Albert Pujols hit a three-run home run off Brad Lidge in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS to win the game 5-4 and stave off elimination. The Cardinals were down three games to one to the Astros, and the home fans at Minute Maid Park were left in stunned silence. The glee was short lived for Cardinals fans, as the Astros defeated the Cardinals in Game 6 at Busch Stadium to move on to the World Series.
October 19, 2006 – On this date, Game 7 of the NLCS was played between the Cardinals and the Mets at Shea Stadium. This game was known for three events. First, a catch by Endy Chavez of the Mets, who took a two-run home run away from Scott Rolen. The second was a two-run home run by Yadier Molina in the ninth inning to negate the Chavez catch.
The third and final event was the curveball seen around the world. Closer Adam Wainwright threw a perfect 12-6 bender to catcher Molina as batter Carlos Beltran took it for strike three to end the NLCS. The Cardinals earned a trip to the World Series (which they won 4-1 over the Detroit Tigers).
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