Thomas Saggese's production shouldn't change the Cardinals' plans

It's not outlandish to think that the St. Louis Cardinals wanted Thomas Saggese to faceplant in his time on the active roster while Nolan Gorman and, later, Masyn Winn spent time on the 10-day injured list. Struggles from Saggese would have made it easy for the Cardinals to send the 23-year-old back to Triple-A Memphis with no pushback from fans.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Saggese has thrived in his short stint with the major league club. The middle infielder is hitting .394 in 33 at-bats, with an OPS of .958. Of his 13 hits, four have gone for extra bases. Saggese has shown that until his bat cools down, he warrants a spot at the highest level. But because of a roster crunch within the organization, Winn's expected return on April 22 will likely put an end to Saggese's current stint with the Cardinals.

The Cardinals' looming decision to demote Saggese is probably the right call.

Saggese will, in all likelihood, return to Memphis because the Cardinals will want him to receive regular playing time instead of just being a bench bat with the big league club. It's understandable why the Cardinals would have this mindset, and their belief that Saggese may still have more potential to unlock at his age is likely a big reason why they will send him packing to Triple-A. One can contrast this with Luken Baker, who, at 28, likely doesn't have another level to his game to discover and would therefore not be developing in any significant way with more plate appearances in the minor leagues.

That reasoning for keeping Baker with the Cardinals likely also applies to center fielder Michael Siani, who would otherwise be the logical choice to demote while keeping Saggese with the major league squad. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol is also a fan of strong defense, which Siani can provide as a late-game substitution. But fair or not, players who can swing the stick are more valuable than those who can flash the leather, and in recent games, the Cardinals haven't provided enough offense to make Siani's late-game defense worth rostering.

So, with that said, why keep Siani over Saggese? Other than the fact that Saggese has time and potential on his side, his position is also working against him. The players blocking Saggese on the roster are Winn, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman. Of those three, the one whom Saggese could most easily leapfrog is Gorman. The Cardinals are already having trouble finding playing time for Gorman even though he has shown improved plate discipline and contact rates so far this season. However, given Gorman's tantalizing power, it wouldn't be wise for the team to trade Gorman and rely on Saggese as their key backup given Saggese's small sample size and seemingly lower ceiling.

There is reason to believe that Saggese's current success could be short-lived: Always an aggressive hitter, Saggese has yet to take a walk with the major league club this season, and once teams receive more data, they will invariably throw out of the zone more often to get Saggese to chase.

The Cardinals originally stated that 2025 would be a season for the young players, but that hasn't appeared to be the entire truth. One obstacle to that goal is the presence of Nolan Arenado, whom the Cardinals failed to trade in the offseason and who is now preventing Saggese from receiving frequent plate appearances. If the Cardinals find themselves buried in the division by the trade deadline and Arenado is performing at semi-strong level, the Cardinals may explore the market for him again, leading the team to be in more of a true "youth movement" after the deadline.

This entire process is unfair to Saggese, who has done everything management could have wanted but will likely receive the trip to Memphis nonetheless. It's worth wondering whether this will affect Saggese's mindset. Ideally, he will take the demotion in stride and recognize that at his age, there will be plenty of other opportunities, but nobody should fault him if he is distraught by the move. After all, success in most areas of employment generally earns rewards, not punishments.

Saggese will likely be the odd man out when Winn returns, and while it will sting to see the Cardinals not recognize his production with a longer stint on the major league roster, this is probably the best choice for Saggese and the Cardinals in the long run.