The Cardinals’ next breakout utility player could be right under their nose

The St. Louis Cardinals have several important decisions to make about their roster as opening day nears. One of the most interesting ones to me is who will win the Brendan Donovan sweepstakes as the jack-of-all-trades starter. Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin are the leading contenders in this derby, and while neither is likely to be the player that Donovan was for the Cardinals, their potential flexibility on the roster is intriguing. Over on Redbird Rundown, we ran down (ha!) a more extensive list of roster battles, with some surprising conclusions.

Jose Fermin doesn't have the prospect pedigree, but he hit very well last year at all levels.

Jose Fermin is the decidedly less sexy of the two contenders, but in 70 PAs last year in St. Louis, he ran a 129 wRC+. Small sample size alert, but you read that right, folks, Fermin was 29% better than the average MLB hitter last year. He’s going to turn 27 at the end of March, so he’s running out of real estate to catch on as an MLB regular, but like that kid in your high school class that went from four-foot nothing as a freshman to having a beard as a senior, maybe he’s a relative late bloomer? His time in St. Louis came on the back of a cool .913 OPS in Memphis last year in almost 300 PAs. He’s not going to bring a ton of pop, but this lineup could use some high-average, high-OBP guys at the bottom of the order to spice things up. (Here’s looking at you, Victor Scott II.)

Where Fermin gets more interesting is in his positional flexibility. With the signing of Ramon Urias, which to me was a bit perplexing, Cardinals Galactic Emperor Chaim Bloom (just thought I’d take that for a spin. I don’t feel good about the reference, but it feels good to have him making decisions!) has been quoted as stating Fermin would see more time in the outfield. Fermin is classically trained as a shortstop and can also play at second and third base. This is starting to sound suspiciously like a right-handed Brendan Donovan, isn’t it? (Maybe even a sprinkle of Tommy Edman, too?)

I love Saggese's potential, and it seems the organization does, too.

The likely leader in the clubhouse, though, is Thomas Saggese. My cohosts at Redbird Rundown have christened him Thomas the Italian, so let’s look at his legion of talents. Saggese has prospect pedigree in a way that Fermin never has had. This doesn’t necessarily translate into major league production, but it’s often a good marker. He came over in the Jordan Montgomery trade, and the capstone to his career thus far is his Texas League MVP season of 2023, which saw him running a cool 131 wRC+ with 25 homers in Double-A. Yowza. He’s yet to replicate that season, but I should note that he’s been on the Memphis shuttle the last couple of years and hasn’t always had consistent playing time when he’s been up in St. Louis. I’m hoping this type of hopping around hasn’t damaged his development — it certainly didn’t do Zack Thompson any favors.

Defensively, this tune is going to sound quite familiar. He can play shortstop, second, and third, and has spent a fair amount of time in the outfield, too. Once again, we have another Mr. Versatility on our hands. And hey, if it’s good enough for the almighty Dodgers, then it should be good enough for these rebuilding birds. 

Both players are extremely likely to make the opening day roster. One of them has a fair chance to be the left fielder on opening day as Lars Nootbaar recovers on whatever gravity treadmill he’s running on. Saggese is just about three years younger, turning 24 years old in April. Here’s the secret to what the Cardinals should do: play them both. Between the outfield spot open, sitting Gorman against lefties, actually giving Masyn Winn a break so his body doesn’t break down, and rotating through at second base and DH, you can really give ten positional players lots of playing time. Give them time to develop at the major league level and, who knows, maybe you find yourself a right-handed Brendan Donovan. That would be OK, wouldn’t it?