In need of an assist for their infield, the Cardinals are turning to a prospect and in return he’ll get a head start on making an impression for 2025.
Thomas Saggese, the headliner of the Cardinals’ trade-deadline acquisitions in 2023, will be promoted to the majors ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Busch Stadium against the Cincinnati Reds. A source confirmed the promotion Tuesday morning.
The Cardinals made room on the roster later in the afternoon by optioning center fielder Victor Scott II to Class AAA Memphis.
Saggese will start at shortstop on Tuesday night in his MLB debut.
This past weekend, the Cardinals expressed concern about Brendan Donovan’s foot injury that kept him out of the lineup against the Mariners, and manager Oliver Marmol affirmed Sunday that he wanted to get rookie Masyn Winn a break Tuesday before the final sprint to finish the regular season. Jose Fermin served as the backup at both middle infield spots.
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Donovan is back in the lineup at second on Tuesday.
A second baseman who also played often at shortstop, Saggese gives the Cardinals welcome depth at several infield positions and allows them to give an ascending bat early experience at the highest level. He’s expected to compete for regular playing time in the majors this coming season.
Saggese, 22, has hit .253 this season at Class AAA Memphis with a .313 on-base percentage and a .438 slugging percentage for a .751 OPS. He has 20 homers and 46 extra-base hits in 479 at-bats with the Redbirds. He is considered one of the Cardinals’ top-five prospects, and before they drafted JJ Wetherholt with the seventh overall pick this past July, Saggese was the Cardinals’ leading offensive infield prospect.
After getting acclimated with the Cardinals' highest minor-league affiliate, Saggese has hit .276 with a .496 slugging percentage and .831 OPS in his past 60 games for the Redbirds.
The Cardinals acquired Saggese from Texas about 13 months ago at the trade deadline. He became the centerpiece of the deal that sent lefty Jordan Montgomery to the Rangers for their World Series-winning run and brought Saggese to Springfield, Mo., for the exclamation points on his MVP summer. Saggese hit .331/.403/.662 and had an OPS of 1.065 in the second half of the season with the Class AA Springfield Cardinals. He won the Texas League’s MVP honor with a total of 26 homers, 66 extra-base this, and a .904 OPS for the season.
He also drove in 111 runs and scored 101.
A right-handed hitter, Saggese was the Rangers’ fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft. They selected him out of Carlsbad (Calif.) High School.
The Cardinals had an opening on the 40-player roster so they could purchase Saggese’s contract without having to make an additional move to clear a spot.