Out of the regular rotation and struggling in the little playing time he does get, Thomas Saggese admittedly needed to see some success and he got it with a game-tying homer in Friday's defeat of the rival Cubs.
ST. LOUIS – A devoutly religious man who proudly professes his faith, utility fielder Thomas Saggese has had to remind himself recently that his struggles in 2026 with the Cardinals don’t define him as a person.
Still, a little success never hurts the psyche from time to time.
Saggese, a former Double-A Most Valuable Player and one of the highest-rated prospects in the Cardinals Minor League system two years earlier, has largely struggled in 2026 and is hitting just .129 through 29 games. A man without a true position, but one who has filled in in the outfield and infield, Saggese’s struggles largely stem from a lack of consistent playing time and success when he's gotten to play.
On Friday, in a game where he got the start at third base against Chicago left-hander Shota Imanaga, Saggese delivered one of his biggest swings of the season. After checking his swing and barely laying off a split-finger pitch in the dirt, Saggese pounced on an Imanaga fastball and hit it 402 feet for a game-tying home run.
The Cardinals got a three-run homer from Nelson Velazquez early and a solo shot from Ivan Herrera late to go with Saggese's blast and they ultimately held on to beat the Cubs 6-4 to end their four-game losing streak. Afterward, Saggese talked about the relief he felt in finally finding some success amid a season of struggles.
“You really want to succeed every time that you can because this year hasn’t been the best for me, but definitely it’s been about keeping my faith,” said Saggese, who hit his first MLB home run in 120 at bats – dating to Sept. 16, 2025. “I’m trying to keep the attitude of I don’t need (baseball) success change how I feel. I don’t want to let it define me and not let my performance be my identity.
“As much as I’d like to say I didn’t need that (homer), I really wanted it for sure. It felt really good.”
Struggling Saggese demoted, then recalled
Out of the regular rotation after being passed up in utility opportunities by Jose Fermin, the Cardinals optioned Saggese to Triple-A Memphis on May 4. The move was designed to get him consistent playing time and regular at bats in hopes of sparking something in him offensively.
However, just before Saggese was to leave St. Louis and head to Memphis, Ramon Urias suffered a tendon injury in his right forearm a day later and it meant Saggese was back in the big leagues. However, that hasn’t translated into much playing time for Saggese, who learned to play the outfield in hopes of getting more playing time in 2026.
After going just 9 for 50 in April, he’s gotten few chances in May and is just 3 for his last 18 at the plate. Sure enough, his homer on Friday night added to his history of success against the rival Cubs. He has hits in eight of his last nine games against Chicago and he’s 11 for 32 (.344) with three doubles and Friday’s clutch home run.
Saggese showed some of the progress that the Cards are looking for before the homer by not chasing Imanaga pitches in the dirt. Often pressing and trying to make the most of his limited playing time, Saggese has stayed in bad habits of chasing too many pitches out of the strike zone. After seeing his chase rate climb to 34.3 percent in 2025, it has climbed even higher (36.9 percent) in his reduced playing time in 2026. That has caused his whiff rate (from 26.5 percent in 2025 to 32.3 percent) and strikeout rate (from 28.1 percent in 2025 to 31.6 percent) to spike.
“I was just telling myself to get on the fastball because I’ve been late a lot lately at the plate,” Saggese said. “Not playing every day, I’m just trying to get on the heaters as much as a I can. So, after I laid off that split, I saw it well and I was trying to get on the heater. It was high enough to get to. I laid off the one was low and away and that’s the best version of that pitch. Then, to get a pitch a little higher, your brain is just able to process things a little better.”
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