Cardinals' deadline acquisition Thomas Saggese wins the Texas League MVP Award

After being acquired at the MLB Trade Deadline in the Jordan Montgomery trade, Cardinals' prospect Thomas Saggese has been awarded the Texas League Most Valuable Player award for the 2023 season.

In 93 games for the Texas Rangers' Double-A affiliate, Saggese slashed .313/.379/.512 with 15 HR and 78 RBI, catching the eyes of talent evaluators, and he obviously had the attention of the Cardinals' front office. In 33 games for Double-A Springfield, Saggese played out of his mind, posting a 1.064 OPS with 10 HR and 29 RBI. He eventually received a promotion to Triple-A Memphis and is now knocking on the door of the big leagues.

Across 555 at-bats in Double-A and Triple-A this year, Saggese finished with 26 HR, 111 RBI, 12 SB, and a .904 OPS, slashing defensive versatility by playing shortstop, second base, and third base along the way. John Mozeliak compared Saggese to Brendan Donovan when they acquired him, and although they are different players, Saggese has certainly made a name for himself this season.

When the Cardinals traded Montgomery to the Rangers, much of the conversation centered around starter Tekoah Roby, who represented a promising pitching prospect for the Cardinals' organization. Saggese has done everything in his power to become the headline name in the deal to this point. Saggese and Roby could end up being a significant haul for St. Louis when we look back at this trade in the future.

For the Cardinals, Saggese is their second straight prospect to win the Texas League MVP Award, with Moises Gomez winning it in 2022 and the third recipient in four seasons, with Dylan Carlson taking home the award in 2019.