Cardinals recall Thomas Saggese after 1 day as injury forces quick reversal

Well, that was quick! Just one day after Thomas Saggese was optioned to Triple-A to get more consistent playing time and get out of the funk he's in offensively, the St. Louis Cardinals recalled him to the Major League roster due to Ramon Urías being placed on the IL with right elbow lateral epicondylitis.

While Saggese was struggling in St. Louis this year, posting a .170/.228/.208 slash line; he only played in 18 games and had not appeared in a game since April 27th. He really wasn't performing when he played, so an extended run in Memphis would have made a lot of sense to reset and get things right, but manager Oliver Marmol made it clear that Saggese being optioned to the minor leagues was more about him getting consistent playing time and development, rather than sitting on the bench behind Urias.

So now that Urias is landing on the injured list, that playing time that wasn't there 24 hours ago has now opened up, and so Saggese should expect to fill into the rotation of appearances that the veteran infielder had been claiming himself, although he'll have to perform better this time in order to fend off Cesar Prieto, who had been called up in his place on Monday.

Thomas Saggese will have to turn things around at the plate to stick in St. Louis this time

So far this year, Urias has received starts at least two out of every five games, playing third base on days when Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy were on the mound, allowing Nolan Gorman to be the designated hitter and Ivan Herrera to play behind the plate.

Saggese is likely to move into that same role, but if there is a right-handed pitcher on the mound, there is an argument for Cesar Prieto to see some of that run, considering how impactful he's been against right-handed pitching at Triple-A this year and how poorly Saggese, Urias, and Jose Fermin have hit against righties.

When Saggese was optioned to Memphis, Marmol said that he would see time in both the infield, corner outfield, and center field in order to continue his path as a utility man, so the Cardinals could certainly deploy him in left field against left-handed pitching to give Victor Scott II or Nathan Church a day off. This is another way they can sneak in some playing time for him during this stretch.

The Cardinals clearly value Saggese, which is why they wanted him playing every day in Memphis and were okay with Prieto being in an inconsistent reserve role in St. Louis for the time being. But now that Saggese isn't going to get that stint in Memphis, he will have to start performing better offensively, or he may be optioned again in favor of someone like Bryan Torres so that he can go get those at-bats to work out of his funk.

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