ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

NEW YORK — Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn will move a step closer Friday to returning to the lineup, along with a plan to keep him in it.

Winn will begin a rehab assignment Friday with the Cardinals’ top affiliate, Class AAA Memphis. After a week off to address recurring spasms in his lower back, Winn could have three days in the field and a handful of at-bats with the Redbirds as they host Jacksonville. If the weekend goes well, the second-year shortstop will join the Cardinals in Atlanta. He’s eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Part of his return is a regimen to treat and maintain his back’s health.

“Building different things into his routine,� manager Oliver Marmol said. “No different than the other guys who have to pay attention a certain body part. Nothing too crazy or out of the norm.�

Winn, 23, was batting .370 during his previous eight games before back pain forced him out of a game. Winn said he felt discomfort for several days leading into the first inning on April 11, when a play on a grounder caused him to twist and trigger the back spasms that forced him out of that game. The shortstop was adamant about not going on the injured list, but the team felt going two or three days without their starting infielder would leave the bench challenged.

The Cardinals also wanted to give Winn and a longer break than the minimum in order to avoid the backache becoming a chronic or prolonged issue.

Winn began last season with back soreness as well, and the Cardinals responded with the addition of a veteran shortstop, Brandon Crawford, and a measured approach to the workload for their young shortstop. This year, the Cardinals lean the other way — choosing to go without a backup shortstop on the opening day roster and counting on Winn playing — in his words and others’ — “a lot.� The recurrence of back pain for Winn reemphasizes the proactive work he’ll have to do away from the field, not just reactive treatment when there is an issue.

“Last time, he still had (to factor) limited pregame activities into it to feel good enough to go,� Marmol said. “It’s too early for that. We’ll see when he returns how he’s feeling.�

In Winn’s absence, Brendan Donovan and Thomas Saggese have split starts at shortstop. Donovan extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with an RBI single Thursday night. As a duo, Saggese and Donovan were batting .500 (9 for 18) while playing shortstop.

Scott freestyles in famous studio

On Thursday morning, Cardinals center fielder Victor Scott II, who moonlights as recording artist Argo, visited the famous Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan. He said he entered with no lyrics, nothing written, and left with new track, “Dreams Are Running.�

“I freestyled a lot of that song,� said Scott, who singled and stole a base in the third inning Thursday night at Citi Field. “I had something about hard worker and work ethic. I haven’t made a song in a while, and it took me about an hour for me to make.�

Quad Recording Studios, located in Times Square and a fixture in history and development of hip-hop, has been used by Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj and Tupac, as well as Michael Jackson. This past season, Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler visited Quad, received a tour and left with a recording he made in the studio. Scott approached a contact with Major League Baseball about doing the same thing.

His visit comes a few days after his latest album dropped.

As Argo, Scott released “Not Your Average Rapper� about a week ago. The 13-song album was recorded and produced during the offseason in Atlanta, and there are elements of the songs inspired by this past year, when he made his major league debut.

Scott said during his time in the studio at Quad he freestyled lyrics, at one point linking a love for European cars with the Euro-step basketball move. He was thrilled by the final track.

“You might hear that one soon,� he smiled.

Wetherholt surging for Springfield

The Cardinals’ top prospect, infielder JJ Wetherholt, hit his first Class AA home run Wednesday night as part of a 3-for-3 night that also included a double. Wetherholt’s four RBIs doubled his total to eight so far this year with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate Springfield (Missouri).

The seventh overall pick in this past summer’s draft, Wetherholt went without a hit in his first four games at the Class AA level. Since, the 22-year-old has gone 14 for 27 with four doubles, eight runs, that .518 average and .778 slugging percentage in his past six games. Thursday was his third three-hit game of the season.

Marmol, etc.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol moved into 14th place all time with his team’s 256th win under his guidance. He jumped ahead of Hall of Famer and manager/player Roger Bresnahan, who ran the Cardinals from 1909 to 1912. With five more wins, Marmol will surpass Eddie Stanky for 13th. “The Brat� was also famously a player/manager in the early 1950s.

• Scott will appear on MLB Network's morning show Friday.
• The Cardinals will rock the blue uniforms this weekend in Queens for the first time this season. The club’s Saturday road victory-blue uniforms were delivered this past week.
• Mets great Darryl Strawberry, who calls the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½-area home now, caught the ceremonial first pitch Thursday night as part of the Mets’ Black Legacy Game, a celebration of the Black players in Mets history.