Thomas Saggese ought to be getting a real look from the Cardinals down the stretch.
St. Louis keeps finding ways to tease hope before the whole thing sours, and the latest stretch only sharpened the need to shift attention toward what comes next. The postseason is slipping away, and the final month should be about answers - not just for the 2027 roster in the big picture, but for players like Saggese, who has already had his chances and is still waiting for a sustained one.
The Cardinals have done this before with young players such as Masyn Winn and Jimmy Crooks, using September to give them a taste of the majors. Saggese fits that same evaluation lane.
He was once the Texas League MVP, but after bouncing between St. Louis and Memphis, he’s now in that awkward spot where the talent is obvious and the consistency is still missing.
The organization’s belief in him started with the 2023 trade deadline deal that sent Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to the Rangers. In return, the Cardinals got Saggese, John King, and Tekoah Roby. King provided the quickest impact, but Saggese and Roby were viewed as the real upside plays, and Saggese quickly helped make the trade look like a strong one.
He absolutely tore through Double-A in 2023, winning Texas League MVP honors after hitting .313 with an OPS near .900 and 15 home runs. He moved up to Triple-A to finish that season, then spent most of 2024 in Memphis, where he added another 20 homers while working at second base, shortstop, and third. That earned him his first big league look as a September call-up, and while the 18-game stint was rough for the 22-year-old, he did show the kind of versatility and edge at the plate that can play at the next level.
Since then, the results in St. Louis have been uneven.
Saggese has played 114 games for the Cardinals and has four home runs with a .225 batting average while striking out nearly 30% of the time. His 2026 major league stay lasted 32 games, and most of this season has again been spent in Memphis, where the bat has shown a little more polish: 10 homers, a 22.5% strikeout rate, a 10.4% walk rate, and a .258 average.
The batting average still isn’t much to brag about, but the defensive versatility has continued to stand out.
That matters because the Cardinals are currently using Jose Fermin and Bryan Torres in their multi-position roles. Both have been serviceable in limited action, with Fermin getting the better results, but neither brings much in the way of offensive upside. They put the ball in play, sure, but they don’t offer much speed and they don’t exactly create many fireworks in the field.
Saggese does. He still strikes out too much, but he’s faster than both of those options and has more power in the bat. That gives him a different kind of value, especially for a club with little to lose in the standings over the last month.
And there’s a path for him to play often. He could handle shortstop while JJ Wetherholt fills in for Masyn Winn until Winn is back, and he could also work in a platoon with Bryan Torres or Nolan Gorman at third. This season, he’s even added an outfield glove to the mix, which opens the door for him to help in left field too.
For a Cardinals team looking ahead, Saggese is the kind of player who should be getting repeated chances right now.
In Other News...
Cardinals Suddenly Have Another Third Base Concern to Watch
A new third-base wrinkle surfaced for the Cardinals when Blaze Jordan left Mondays game against the Orioles after injuring his left foot and ankle. Nolan Gorman took over at third base once Jordan was removed, giving St. Louis an immediate in-game answer, but also reminding the club how quickly the position can become a moving target.
The Cardinals are expecting Jordan to miss some time while the exact severity of the injury is still being determined, which leaves the situation in a holding pattern for now. For a team trying to keep its infield stable, the next few days will matter, because the path forward at third base may depend on how long Jordan is sidelined and how the club chooses to cover the spot in the meantime. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have A New Injury Concern After Blaze Jordans Big Night
Blaze Jordans night against the Orioles had already featured one of the louder swings of the game, a 416-foot home run that helped set the tone before the Cardinals found themselves dealing with a different kind of headline. The third baseman was active all evening and looked to have given St. Louis exactly the kind of impact it wanted from him at the plate.
Then the game turned in the eighth inning, when Jordan came up awkwardly after tagging a runner and had to leave the field with help because of pain in his left foot or ankle. Nolan Gorman moved over to third base in his place, and now the Cardinals have a new injury situation to monitor after a promising performance took an uneasy turn. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Have One Clear Problem Standing Between Progress And Contention
The early optimism around the Cardinals has faded into a familiar midseason reality, as a strong start has given way to a record below .500 and a spot more than five games back in the wild-card race. There has still been reason to watch, especially with young players such as JJ Wetherholt, Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson showing encouraging growth, but the standings have a way of sharpening the conversation in St. Louis.
What stands out most now is how clearly the bullpen has separated itself from the rest of the roster. A 4.48 ERA from that group has left the Cardinals without the kind of dependable late-inning arms contenders usually lean on, and the trade deadline only underscored the issue after the club moved on from pieces like Dustin May and JoJo Romero. The front office appears poised to treat relief help as an offseason priority, because progress from the young core will only go so far if the run prevention behind it never stabilizes. [Read more 🡒]