The St. Louis Cardinals announced this week that their No. 5 prospect Thomas Saggese will start the year in the minors. They sent the infielder to minor league camp after he spent the past month with the big-league squad. However, it may not be long before he is back in St. Louis.
Cardinals Prospect Thomas Saggese Might Have Short Wait for Big League Promotion
A Lot of Infielders Vying for Time
The Cardinals’ inability to trade Nolan Arenado created a domino effect that resulted in Saggese not making the major league squad out of spring training. If the Cardinals had moved Arenado, Nolan Gorman would likely have been the everyday third baseman while Saggese slated into at least a platoon at second base. Now, with Arenado, Gorman, Masyn Winn and even at times Brendan Donovan expected to fill out second base, shortstop, and third base, it made things complicated for Saggese, who can play all three of those positions.
The 23-year-old didn’t lose out on the opportunity because of a lack of success. In spring training this season, he slashed .267/.333/.400 with a home run, eight hits, and three walks in 33 plate appearances. Those numbers look better than those of Gorman, who slashed .196/.245/.326 with a home run, nine hits, and three walks in 46 plate appearances. However, the 25-year-old Gorman is further down the line in his MLB experience. The Cardinals need to discover if he can put it together in the big leagues or if they need to move on from him to make room for young talent in the organization coming through the pipeline.
Solo shot from Thomas Saggese!
pic.twitter.com/vIAMWHG16O
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 4, 2025
Saggese Likely to be First Man Called Up
Gorman finished 2024 in Triple-A after a brutal season with the Cardinals. He slashed .203/.271/.400 before being sent down. While he did bring in 19 home runs, his strikeouts were a big problem. At 37.6 percent, Gorman had the second-highest strikeout percentage in the league in 2024. If he can’t rein in the strikeouts and get on base more, the Cardinals may be forced to cede his playing time to Saggese.
Saggese will also likely get a call-up at the first sign of injury. His versatility in playing three infield positions means he will be an obvious option if another infielder hits the injured list. The Cardinals could still move Arenado at some point this season. If the Cardinals trade him at the deadline, that would mean Saggese immediately slots in as a regular player.
Cardinals Like Saggese
Saggese has been on an upward trend over the past six months. He finished 2024 with the Cardinals where he showed flashes of success, even with a .204/.250/.306 slash line.
“This is a kid that is a winning player,” said Cards manager Oliver Marmol in an interview with KMOX on Sept. 15. “There’s good players and winning players. When this organization has been really good it’s been filled with winning players.”
Saggese flexed his patience in the Arizona Fall League. He led the league in on-base percentage at .542 over 18 games. The 22-year-old walked 16 times while only striking out 15 times, and was named to the Fall Stars Game in the AFL Showcase.
“More just kind of thinking along with the pitcher and what he’s trying to do,” Saggese said in November about his new approach in the Fall League. “Really realizing just not giving the pitchers too much credit. Because they’re trying to throw strikes, they’re going to miss in the middle of the zone a lot. When they do that’s when I make my money. When they miss in the middle of the zone wait for that, rather than trying to do too much. So really just that idea. Really just the thought process of it.”
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