The Cardinals have been forced to patch together their infield with both Masyn Winn and JJ Wetherholt on the Injured List, but Thomas Saggese is turning that temporary opening into something bigger.
That kind of opportunity matters for a player like Saggese, who has been around the conversation before. The former fifth-round pick came to St. Louis in 2023 from the Texas Rangers in the deal centered around Jordan Montgomery, and he quickly moved into the Cardinals’ group of top prospects because of the bat.
His path to this point has already had a few turns. Saggese debuted in the big leagues in 2024 and appeared in just 18 games.
Then came a much larger look in 2025, when he played 82 games around the infield and showed real promise with a .258/.299/.342 slash line, a .641 OPS, two home runs, 17 doubles and 25 RBIs at age 23. At that stage, he looked like a possible next utility piece in the mold of Tommy Edman or Brendan Donovan.
This season did not start nearly as cleanly. During Spring Training, Saggese was part of the group trying to get comfortable in left field while the Cardinals dealt with Lars Nootbaar recovering from offseason surgery.
He flashed early in camp, then went to the World Baseball Classic and barely played. By the time he returned, he was behind, and the slow start followed.
He was sent to Triple-A in early June after hitting just .184.
The reset worked. Since being recalled near the end of August because of the infield injuries, Saggese has been on a tear, batting .517/.543/.931 with a 1.474 OPS, three home runs, eight RBIs and three doubles in nine games.
That hot stretch has changed the picture again. Overall this year, Saggese is hitting .276/.333/.457 with a .790 OPS, four home runs, 12 RBIs and five doubles in 41 games. He has also shown versatility by playing left field, second base, shortstop and third base.
Some of those spots look spoken for. Second base and shortstop are set for the Cardinals moving forward, and left field likely is too thanks to Joshua Báez.
Third base remains the more open door. If Saggese keeps swinging it the way he has over the last week, he could push himself into the mix for a regular role next year - or at the very least a utility job.
His bat can be that good.
In Other News...
Masyn Winn Return Still Leaves Cardinals With One Infield Concern
Masyn Winns return has been trending in the right direction for the Cardinals, but it is not happening yet. He is still on the injured list and will not be activated for Mondays game because he is still feeling pain when swinging, even after a recent full workout suggested he was getting close. Winn fractured his left thumb sliding into a base last month, and his absence has been felt with the Cardinals already missing both starting middle infielders.
The encouraging part for St. Louis is that Winn appears to be nearing a comeback, and his return would give the club more flexibility in the lineup. For now, though, the Cardinals are still waiting on a healthier infield picture to take shape, and Winns bat has one more hurdle to clear before he can give them that boost. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Just Made Cooper Hjerpes Role A Lot More Interesting
Cooper Hjerpes first big league appearance gave the Cardinals exactly the kind of look they hoped for when they called him up. In relief against the Rockies, the left-hander spun four hitless innings with six strikeouts, showing enough poise and swing-and-miss stuff to make his debut feel more like a statement than a stopgap.
What makes his role especially intriguing now is the way St. Louis plans to handle him going forward. Oliver Marmol said Hjerpe wont fit neatly into either the traditional starter or reliever bucket the rest of the season, instead working in a piggyback setup while staying on a starters schedule. Hjerpe arrived after Hancel Rincon was optioned following a rough start to his own stint on the roster, so the Cardinals are already making one adjustment while trying to figure out how best to use the new arm they just saw flash. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans May Need To Rethink What Counts As A Starter's Workload
The old benchmark for a starters season has been slipping away across the sport, and the Cardinals are managing their pitching with that reality in mind. Around Major League Baseball, fewer arms are getting anywhere near 200 innings, and St. Louis is following the same industry-wide trend by watching workloads closely instead of treating volume alone as proof a pitcher is being properly developed.
For Cardinals fans, that can take some getting used to, especially when a young arm is handled in shorter bursts or asked to build up gradually over the course of a season. Leahy and Tanner Franklin are both examples of that careful approach, with the organization balancing present usage against future durability, and the bigger question is no longer whether the Cardinals are being conservative but how much of the modern starters job description has changed for everyone. [Read more 🡒]