Thomas Saggese and Victor Scott appear to be heading down 2 radically different paths with the Cardinals

As the season's final month rolls on, the St. Louis Cardinals are still learning what they have — and what they don't.

Amid injury afflictions and roster expansions, the Cardinals have undergone quite the shake-up in the composition of their dugout and have thrust several players into larger-than-expected roles. One of these players, infielder Thomas Saggese, has grabbed the bull by the horns and is making the most of his opportunity, whereas Victor Scott has not endeared himself to the Cardinals in his extremely limited number of appearances.

The Cardinals promoted Saggese on Aug. 28 after placing Blaze Jordan on the injured list. Prior to his latest call-up, Saggese had hit just .184/.244/.276 in 76 at-bats and struck out 26 times in 2026. However, he has completely flipped the script since returning to the Cardinals. From Aug. 30 through Sept. 7, Saggese has embarked on an eight-game hitting streak and is slashing .536/.559/.964 while striking out just five times in 34 plate appearances. If he can continue to hit adeptly throughout the remainder of the season, Saggese could force his way into a longer look at third base next year.

Although Saggese lacks the ideal power that teams look for in their corner infielders, the Cardinals currently have few options at the position and could roll with Saggese at the hot corner, assuming there's a season in 2027. Alternatively, the Cardinals might decide to place Saggese in a utility infield role and keep Jordan at third base. Regardless of their choice, it's encouraging that Saggese, a player who looked to be getting squeezed out of the team's plans, could provide the Cardinals with another solid bat to aid them during the rebuild.

Victor Scott's time with the Cardinals has not gone so swimmingly

When the Cardinals promoted center fielder Victor Scott on Sept. 1, it seemed that the team would be willing to provide him one more chance to see if his recent hitting improvements could stick and if he could emerge as a threat on the basepaths as the season drew to a close. The Cardinals, though, look to have had different ideas, as they have not yet placed Scott in the starting lineup and have relegated him to pinch-running and defensive duties. And even in his natural habitat of roaming the bases, Scott has faltered.

Despite wreaking havoc on the bases for Triple-A Memphis this season, Scott has failed to translate his baserunning acumen to the major leagues. On Sept. 6, manager Oli Marmol placed Scott in the game as a pinch-runner at first base for Joshua Báez, and the pitcher proceeded to erase Scott with a pickoff move.

Willing to overlook the blunder, Marmol again pinch-ran Scott in the following game, this time for Iván Herrera in the top of the eighth inning. With no outs and Scott now occupying first base, Alec Burleson hit a deep flyout that should have allowed Scott to scamper to second base. Instead, he remained anchored at first, much to Burleson's chagrin, as he was seen shouting at Scott from the dugout.

Scott, already on the fringes of the roster, can't afford to have his teammates pull their hair out in exasperation if he wants to have a spot on the team next season. His hesitance and passivity while on the bases — the place where he's supposed to exhibit the most danger — clearly are not endearing him to those on the Cardinals, He doesn't appear confident in his abilities at the major league level and seems as if he is afraid to make a mistake.

While Saggese may be playing his way into a role with St. Louis next year, Scott looks to be confirming the Cardinals' thoughts that he doesn't have the mettle to succeed as a major league base thief. For better and for worse, President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom is still gathering valuable info during this final month on how to construct the Cardinals' optimal roster moving forward.

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