Cardinals turn to red-hot prospect as Thomas Saggese continues to struggle

The St. Louis Cardinals finally demoted struggling utilityman Thomas Saggese as he saw his playing time evaporate as of late, and in turn, they brought up an often overlooked prospect who has been on an absolute tear at Triple-A to begin the 2026 season, infielder Cesar Prieto.

Prieto, who the Cardinals acquired in the Jack Flaherty trade at the 2023 trade deadline, made his MLB debut with the Cardinals toward the end of the 2025 season, getting just six plate appearances in three games of action. But in his return to Memphis this year, Prieto has been hitting the cover off of the baseball, slashing .311/.357/.566 with six home runs, 14 total extra-base hits, and 14 runs batted in to the tune of a 135 wRC+.

Saggese, on the other hand, started the year very much in the Cardinals lineup as a part of their left field and backup infield mix, but he has only managed to put up a .170/.228/.208 slash line with zero home runs, two doubles, and 19 strikeouts in just 57 plate appearances. His 25 wRC+ is by far the worst of his career, and he has not appeared in a Major League game since April 27th.

In total, Saggese appeared in just 18 games this year, only 14 of which were starts, so it has felt like, for a while now, the best thing for both him and the Cardinals would be a trip back to Memphis to get consistent playing time and to work out of his offensive struggles in real game action. I bet we'll see Saggese back in the mix sometime this summer, but for now, it is Prieto's chance to try and carve out a role with St. Louis.

Cesar Prieto could carve out an expanded role with the Cardinals

This has been by far Prieto's best season at the Triple-A level since he got his first taste of it back in 2023. The power is beginning to show up in a real way; he's striking out at a below 16% clip, and the Cardinals have been trusting him to play shortstop more than they have previously. While Prieto does add another left-handed bat to their mix, he provides a different look than their now-heavy right-handed bench.

Ramon Urias, Jose Fermin, and Yohel Pozo, who are the other three primary bench players on the Cardinals, all hit right-handed and all three have posted a wRC+ of 53 or lower against right-handed pitching. Prieto could become a guy they turn to when they put Nolan Gorman at designated hitter against a right-handed pitcher, or just as their "go-to" bat late in games against right-handed pitching in a big spot.

Nathan Church has run with the left field job as of late, and Fermin has played well in his small playing time, so there really wasn't a use for Saggese on the roster at the moment, especially when he wasn't producing. Saggese may still see some starts in the outfield in Memphis, but the main thing will be getting his bat right.

Prieto will get run for the time being, but he'll need to produce before Lars Nootbaar returns in order to stick on the roster.

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