Cardinals are finally having their young bat learn a new position

The St. Louis Cardinals have a major hole when it comes to right-handed bats that can play in the outfield for them, and they are hoping Thomas Saggese may be able to start giving them some looks out there.

Before Tuesday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saggese told Mike Claiborne of KMOX that the Cardinals had him start taking reps in the outfield recently in hopes that they could get him into their lineup more often and provide another option against left-handed pitching. Saggese has struggled to find consistent opportunities with the big league club this year, but outfield flexibility could change that.

The Cardinals are having Thomas Saggese learn to play in the outfield in hopes that he can get into their lineup more often.

Saggese, who entered the year viewed by most outlets as a top-five prospect in the Cardinals' farm system, has never played in the outfield during a professional game but has long been someone that fans and pundits have thought the Cardinals should hand an outfield glove to in order to increase his versatility.

In 20 games (65 plate appearances) with the Cardinals heading into tonight's action, Saggese is slashing .258/.277/.371 with one home run and seven RBIs on the season. He has started games for St. Louis at second base, shortstop, and third base, but the Cardinals really need more right-handed options in their outfield right now.

Jordan Walker is their lone regular who plays in the outfield and bats right-handed, but he has struggled mightily at the plate this year (41% below league average) and is currently working his way back from appendicitis. Garrett Hampson was recently added to the Cardinals' roster as another right-handed option who can play some outfield, but I would imagine the club would much rather see Saggese take those at-bats in the corner outfield if needed.

On one hand, I'm glad the Cardinals are finally seeing if Saggese can handle the outfield for them, but on the other hand, it is so odd that it has taken them this long to do so. It seemed like a really low-hanging fruit ask that they could have made of Saggese this offseason, during spring training, or even while he's been down at Memphis this year, but they've waited until now (at least to our knowledge) to have him do so.

We all knew that the Cardinals were very thin when it came to right-handed options for their outfield this year, and Saggese seemed like such a clear fit for that role. The club has a history of asking players to try out new positions midseason (see Jordan Walker and Tommy Edman), when, at least in the case of Walker, preparing him for that change could have come much earlier, and it really hindered him in the first two years of his big league career as he struggled to learn playing right field.

I don't foresee things being that big of a struggle for Saggese defensively if he does start playing in the outfield for St. Louis, but regardless, it is another example of weird roster management from the organization.

If the Cardinals are able to fast-track Saggese's development as a corner outfielder, it may have an impact on whether they'd add a right-handed bat at the trade deadline. Their struggles against left-handed pitching are real, and while adding a bat makes a lot of sense, the club may prefer to just let Walker and Saggese fill that role and hope they find more success offensively as the season goes on.