After a second straight season of no postseason baseball, John Mozeliak made it clear that the St. Louis Cardinals were going to enter a 'reset.' For the first time in seemingly forever, the main focus in St. Louis would be on younger players and not wins. While this might've been a frustrating shift for Cardinals fans, it made a lot of sense for the organization.
With the reset in mind, the Cardinals let veterans Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Paul Goldschmidt go in free agency. They also attempted to trade Nolan Arenado, but failed to do so. That failure is highlighted very clearly with Thomas Saggese, a former top prospect acquired in the trade that sent Jordan Montgomery to the Texas Rangers at the 2023 trade deadline.
Saggese was seemingly a player ready to contribute at the MLB level, but Arenado's presence made it so that he'd have nowhere to play. Given that, he began the season at Triple-A Memphis. Nolan Gorman's injury created a roster spot for Saggese to fill in early April, and the young infielder has taken full advantage of his opportunity to play.
The 23-year-old has eight hits in 17 MLB at-bats this season (.471 BA) while seeing time at three different infield positions in his six appearances. Small sample, sure, but Saggese looks like a player who belongs and should receive more playing time. Mozeliak's botched reset will prevent that from happening, though, unfortunately.
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Thomas Saggese deserves more playing time with Cardinals but won't get it
Saggese only got his MLB shot due to Gorman's injury, and is only sticking around because Masyn Winn landed on the IL right when Gorman was activated. This buys Saggese more time, but Winn's injury is not considered serious. When Wynn comes back, there's a good chance Saggese will either get sent back down to Triple-A or get relegated to the bench - neither of which should be happening.
When everyone is healthy, St. Louis' infield is set with Arenado, Winn, Brendan Donovan, and Willson Contreras lining up from third to first just about every day. It's not even as if there are DH at-bats available, as that spot is occupied most nights by Alec Burleson. Donovan can play in the outfield when needed, but with Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, and Jordan Walker, there isn't really a reason for him to do so. Sure, there are days off here and there, but the reason Saggese was sent down in the first place was that he wouldn't have many chances to play.
It isn't Mozeliak's fault that Arenado was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause, but his refusal to move anyone else has created a logjam, particularly in the infield.
Saggese is good enough to warrant regular playing time on a team that says its focus is on younger players. Even a guy like Gorman has shown enough in the past to warrant a chance to play often. When the team is fully healthy, neither of these players will receive regular playing time.
Cardinals fans can only hope that Mozeliak will find a way to open playing time for the organization's young players sooner rather than later. Keeping a talent like Saggese who looks like he belongs at the MLB level pinned to the bench or in Triple-A won't help his development, but that's what's going to happen very shortly.