Thomas Saggese's skillset could compliment other Cardinals' talent in 2025

The St. Louis Cardinals have not had a quality backup utility infielder in quite some time.

The Cardinals ran with veteran shortstop Brandon Crawford on their bench for a large portion of the 2024 season. The year before that, the combination of Taylor Motter, Paul DeJong, and Jose Fermin "filled' that role. In 2022, Brendan Donovan was so good that he found an everyday role while Edmundo Sosa and DeJong struggled to provide value off the bench.

Thomas Saggese is primed to fill that role in 2025, and if he can deliver on some of his promise, he'll provide a lot of value from a role that the Cardinals have received very little from in recent years.

Of those names, I mentioned before, Crawford, Motter, and 2023 Fermin all offered the Cardinals a 58 wRC+ or lower in their time on the roster. The best of the bunch was actually DeJong in 2023, who was about 10% below league average offensively at the plate. It's really not a shocker that a club's backup infielders aren't world-beaters offensively, but it feels like fans have grown accustomed to really poor offense from their backup middle infielders in recent years.

Saggese wasn't any better in his small sample size at the Major League level this year, posting a .204/.250/.306 slash line, good for a 57 wRC+ in his 52 plate appearances. But I'm also not going to draw many conclusions from that small taste of big-league action either. It's hard to "expect" Saggese to be a valuable bat off the bench as we stand today, but he has the skillset and potential to do far more than what the Cardinals have gotten from guys in his role in recent years.

Masyn Winn was a different level of prospect than Saggese is and it would be unfair to say this is what will happen for Saggese next year, but Winn's brief sample size in 2023 that led to comfortablity and success in 2024 could be a path for Saggese as well.

In 137 plate appearances in 2023 at the Major League level (far more than Saggese got this year), Winn was even worse than Saggese, slashing .172/.230/.238 and a 28 wRC+. Winn was expected to be the starting shortstop coming into this year not because the Cardinals thought he was going to develop into an above-league-average bat right away, but because of his exciting defense and ability on the basepaths.

For Saggese, his calling card as a player is his bat, so the thing you actually expect to see make a difference earlier on in his Major League career is his production at the plate. Saggese's small sample size makes it difficult to find a lot to get excited about, but in the midst of a lot of struggles for the 22-year-old infielder, he did manage a 45.7-angle sweet spot% and did not whiff on many pitches, which are two things that Saggese has found to be strengths in his game already.

It's good to see that even in that small sample size, Saggese did not lose his known ability to make contact with most of the pitches he sees and to maximize the attack angle on the pitches he does make contact with. Both of those things can lead to success if he maintains them long-term and gets more comfortable overall as a Major League hitter.

Now, Saggese's expected role could change if the club makes some major trades this offseason. Should they decide to move on from Nolan Arenado, a lot more playing time is going to be opened up on the infield. I also don't think it's out of the question that Nolan Gorman could be moved in a deal if the right one presents itself. But as of today, Saggese should be the guy who fills in for many of those names above, and should he find success doing that, he'll play quite a bit as a backup.

Spelling Winn, Arenado, Gorman, and Brendan Donovan will be a significant part of his role on the roster, should all of those names remain with St. Louis. Saggese's ability to provide the Cardinals a right-handed bat at the second base position may help him find some more starts as well with Gorman's, and to a lesser extent, Donovan's struggles against southpaws in their career. I do find it noteworthy that the Cardinals wanted him to get more reps at second base in the Arizona Fall League, the position he is already most comfortable at.

If Saggese can be league average or better at the plate, which really is not a crazy outcome for him at all, that will be quite the boost from what they've received from guys in his role in the past. If he can be a productive bat who can plug in around the diamond and be a platoon option for their left-handed bats, it's a valuable upgrade for the club, and one fans will surely welcome.