ST. LOUIS – Physically bigger and clearly more powerful at the plate this season, Cardinals' infielder César Prieto wanted to be ready to prove himself when and if another shot at the big leagues came along.

Now, on the heels of his strong start to the Triple-A season in Memphis – one that has included six homers, seven doubles and a triple in 28 games – Prieto is about to get another shot to prove that he can play at the big-league level.

Prieto, 26, was recalled on Monday after Thomas Saggese was optioned out with the plan of him getting regular playing time and more consistent at bats with Triple-A Memphis.

The Cuban-born Prieto made his MLB debut in 20205 and played in three big-league games with the Cardinals over two MLB stints. He went 1 of 6 with five strikeouts at the big-league level.

Those numbers stuck with him over the winter as he was working to add muscle and become a more explosive hitter in 2026.

“That (experience) is going to help because I know what I am going to face now,” Prieto said via Cardinals’ bullpen catcher and translator Kleininger Teran. “I know it was only six at bats, but I have a better idea now and I have good preparation for what is coming.”  

This season at Triple-A Memphis, Prieto has slashed .311/.357/.566/.923 while hitting six homers and driving in 14 runs. He has added seven doubles and a triple in 26 games.

“I really worked during the offseason trying to get stronger and thanks to God I am hitting with that power now,” the 5-foot-9, 195-pound Prieto said.

Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol liked what he heard about the shortstop/third baseman so far this season while playing for Memphis and manager Ben Johnson.

“The reports have been really good and his offensive numbers speak for themselves,” Marmol said of Prieto. “Defensively, he’s been more locked in and making it more important in his daily routine. Then, being able to play all the different positions and feeling comfortable at them – that’s the feedback that we’ve gotten.”

Primarily a third and second baseman in the past, Prieto has played in 18 games at shortstop this season. He appeared in five games at third base and one at DH for Memphis. He has four errors on the season – two coming while at shortstop and two at third base. Anticipating a potential need for shortstop depth, the Cardinals had the infielder make a position switch this season to be ready for a promotion.

 “That (playing shortstop) is something I can do, and I can even play second base, too,” said Prieto, who got a call from Johnson at 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning informing him that he was headed back to the big leagues. “I’ve been working at it and I’ve figured out ways to do it.”

As for Saggese, the Cardinals are hopeful that the 24-year-old infielder/outfielder will get more reps in Memphis and find his rhythm offensively. With the growth of Nathan Church in left field and Jose Fermin as the team’s top utility option, playing time opportunities had dried up for Saggese at the big-league level.

“I couldn’t envision him playing more than twice a week on any given week, and when you look at what (Saggese) is trying to work on in terms of pitch recognition and controlling the strike zone, the hardest thing is to do that off the benchor playing three days down and one day on,” Marmol said. “So, him going down (to Triple-A) and being able to play five to six times a week (will be good for him.) Then, when we need to make a move, he’ll be ready for it. And it just made sense with his age, skill set and ceiling. For him to be here and playing twice a week, that didn’t make a lot of sense.”

Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!