Back when Masyn Winn was still a top prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and long before he made his major league debut, he was already turning heads with his ability to make incredibly quick throws from shortstop to first base. However, that didn't sit well with veteran Justin Turner .
Turner commented that nobody truly cared about Winn's abilities to throw runners out so quickly, and despite Winn not paying much attention to it at all, Turner has continued to double down on it.
In fact, in a now deleted post on X, Turner copied and pasted an essay he wrote with ChatGPT explaining why he thinks Winn's electric arm isn't necessary to throw out runners and continued to criticize the fact that he is able to throw the ball 100 mph across the diamond.
Sep 14, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) fields a ground ball against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Instead of taking the time to praise Winn for his incredible defensive ability, Turner has continued to double down on perhaps one of the worst takes of all time. As Jeff Jones mentions in the post above, Turner has a World Series ring from his playing days and had a very successful career, so there really is no need for him to reiterate that he doesn't care about Winn's throwing abilities.
In fact, Winn has proven him wrong in almost every way, as he continues to play elite defense at shortstop. He even won a Gold Glove in 2025 after making just three errors the entire season. Winn's defense at shortstop is some of the best the Cardinals have had at the position in a very long time, and it stands to reason why the Cardinals remain such a solid defensive team, even in the midst of a rebuild.
Instead of taking the high road and admitting he was wrong about Winn, Turner only continues to make himself look worse. But Cardinals fans can attest to what they have seen from Winn and how impressive it truly is that he can nail runners so quickly.
While throwing hard does present some injury risks , Winn has been able to stay healthy thus far, and hasn't had a problem with his rocket arm. That is likely one of the reasons he won a Gold Glove in the first place and has a chance to potentially be a finalist again this year.
The least Turner could do is appreciate great defense when he sees it instead of criticizing it out of pure jealousy.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/cardinals/onsi as Masyn Winn's Throwing Abilities Continue to Frustrate Justin Turner .
