Photo by Ben Ludeman/Texas Rangers/Getty Images
The St. Louis Cardinals might have struck gold with the addition of infielder Thomas Saggese. He was acquired in the trade with the Texas Rangers, sending Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton to Texas. The Cardinals also received top pitching prospect Tekoah Roby and left-handed reliever John King in the deal.
Saggese Impressed in Double-A Springfield
Saggese put up a .331/.403/.662 slash line with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 33 games with Double-A Springfield. Over the entire season in Double-A split between the Ranger organization and Cardinals, he has put up a respectable .318/.385/.551 slash line with 25 homeruns and 107 RBI’s. The infielder has also shown versatility on defense, logging time at second base, third base, and shortstop for the Double-A squad.
The young, right-handed hitter recently captured the spotlight when he hit for the cycle. Saggese became just the second Springfield Cardinal in the last 12 years to accomplish the feat, leading Springfield to an 11-2 blowout win against Wichita.
A Player Cardinal Fans will Appreciate
Saggese is the type of player Cardinal fans adore. He’s quite simply a good baseball player. The slugging infielder is a hard-nosed player who has good fundamentals. He can mash at the plate and can play all over the infield. However, he is probably best suited at second base. If he continues to develop at his current pace, he could quite possibly make a push to be on the major league roster as soon as next season.
Cardinals Organization has a Big Off-Season Looming
The Cardinals have a lot of work ahead of them this coming off-season. They need to sign three starters and also need to make additions to their bullpen. Undoubtedly, the roster could look quite differently next year. There is a chance that Tommy Edman or Brendan Donovan could be on the move. It’s nice knowing there’s a player like Saggese waiting in the wings that could possibly fill that void if necessary.
