6 players the Cardinals are holding back this year

The St. Louis Cardinals are off to a frustrating start and, depending on your expectations for the season, have underperformed after returning the vast majority of their 83-win team from last season. A sweep of the Minnesota Twins to start the season may have inflated some of those feelings, but since then, the Cardinals have hit plenty of issues, specifically on the road. With a 2-11 road record and a 10-15 record overall, a true transition season may be coming if the organization can commit to a path.

So far, there have been moments of good hitting and good starting pitching, but both pieces have yet to be synced up in their performance. When the team hits well, they give up a lead. When they pitch well, they fail to capitalize in scoring chances. These frustrations have also led to some additional upsetting use of a few players that the Cardinals should look to alter their usage to get the most out of them.

The Cardinals are actively holding some players back rather than giving them an opportunity.

Thomas Saggese

Utility infielder Thomas Saggese was called up to the big league club when Masyn Winn went down with a short-term back injury and was expected to serve as a depth option at third, short, and second base. He was off to a decent start in four games in Memphis, but I was in the camp that if they called him up, he had to be getting regular playing time. So far, he has played in 12 games, including three of the four games against the Mets but did not appear in an inning in the Braves series.

This was not unexpected, as Masyn Winn was activated from the injured list and Nolan Gorman received regular playing time while Brendan Donovan was nursing a rib injury, but it was still upsetting. Saggese is currently on a four-game hitting streak, where he has six hits, four doubles, and two RBIs. His ability to play multiple positions should have gotten him at least one game in the Atlanta series, but the team opted to go with their usual alignment.

What I am starting to advocate for is that Saggese and Gorman start to split infield and DH duties for the foreseeable future. The Cardinals' designated hitter position has severely underwhelmed for a spot where offense is the only priority. According to Bernie Miklasz's research, the main DHs for St. Louis have combined for a total of.... ONE RBI! This includes Alec Burleson, Luken Baker, and Willson Contreras, who have gotten the majority of these opportunities.

In my own research, I was looking for ways that Saggese could get involved in a crowded infield, and while I usually caution against moving young players to the DH spot, this may be Saggese's best opportunity for the team in 2025. Burleson has gotten the vast majority of at-bats at DH because his lefty bat theoretically should play well against right-handed pitchers. What I found, however, is that Saggese has performed better against these arms throughout his entire career. Burleson has only had an OPS against righties over .700 once in his career while Sagges has been .700 or better each season, including this year in his limited MLB time.

If the Cardinals were to move Saggese to a full-time DH role, they would have to make a decision on Burleson for the short term, and that would probably mean him moving down to Memphis. I do not see this as a huge negative, because Burleson needs to unlock something new in his swing. His Baseball Savant page is ice cold with blue, and he is in the bottom five percent in the league in expected on-base percentage, expected slugging, barrel percentage, and launch angle, all necessary statistics for a bat-first player. Also concerning is his 36.7% chase percentage and bottom quarter of the league 34.4% hard-hit rate. If Burleson were to move to Memphis, I would like to see him be more patient at the plate and look to add more power to his game. The Cardinals did show some faith in Saggese, opting to keep him on the major league roster even when Winn was activated from the injured list, but that may have been because of Donovan's ailing ribs.