Will Strong Finish Earn Saggese Third Base Job for Cardinals in 2027?

Growth, as St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol pointed out repeatedly over the final month of the 2026 season, can be measured in a variety of ways.

One way, of course, is the standings – an area where the Cardinals fell back a win from 2025 (78-84) to 2026 (77-85), one that was somewhat expected with the widespread youth on the roster and the club selling off veteran pitchers JoJo Romero and Dustin May for prospects at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Instead, the Cardinals tried to evaluate areas of growth in non-traditional ways in a non-traditional season in St. Louis.

Growth was having a defined core group of players – Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Masyn Winn, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Riley O’Brien – take major steps in their games and evolve into building blocks.

Growth was seeing Leo Bernal, Joshua Baez, Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe and Nathan Church live up to the hype that followed them from the Minor Leagues and show signs they can be depended on going forward.

Growth was Andre Pallante and Gordon Graceffo shaking off the struggles of 2025 and showing the fortitude to change the trajectory of their careers.

“This is a really young group, but there’s been a lot of progress with so many of these guys,” Marmol said. “You can go up and down the lineup and you see growth from so many of our guys. Then, go to the rotation and what McGreevy, Pallante and Leahy did this season, and the bullpen as well. Our staff has really enjoyed pouring into that group. They are hungry for information, and they want to be coaches, so that’s made it a lot of fun.”

However, as president of baseball operation Chaim Bloom reminds, the Cardinals still have major gulfs between them and MLB’s top teams. The National League champion Brewers, after all, finished 26 games ahead of St. Louis and battered the Cards in 11 of 13 head-to-head meetings. Much more growth is needed for the Cards to better navigate the difference the rebuilding and contending.

With growth being the focus, let’s look back at the performances by individual players in the 2026 season and how they will figure into the Cards’ plans going forward in 2027 and beyond:  

Player name: Thomas Saggese

Age: 24

How acquired: Acquired by the Cardinals along with pitcher Tekoah Roby and pitcher John King (No. 19 overall) from the Rangers for pitcher Jordan Montgomery and reliever Chris Stratton on July 30, 2023

2026 statistics: MLB – 57 games, .235/.294/.352/.646, 25 runs, 38 hits, five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 14 RBI, 49 strikeouts, 13 walks, four stolen bases in six tries. Triple-A Memphis – 55 games, .258/.340/.446/.786, 35 runs, 10 doubles, 10 homers, 33 RBI, 56 strikeouts, 26 walks, nine stolen bases in 10 tries.

Key numbers: Promoted to the Cardinals in late August when JJ Wetherholt went on the IL with right wrist tendinitis, Saggese closed the season with a flurry. Over his last 25 games, Saggese hit .279 (24 for 86) with three doubles, three homers and 10 RBI.

Looking back to 2026: For much of 2026, it looked like another lost season for Saggese. He made the Opening Day roster, but struggled badly early on, lost the top utility role to Jose Fermin and was demoted to Triple-A Memphis. Saggese got another chance in late August when Masyn Winn (fractured left thumb) and JJ Wetherholt (left wrist tendinitis) went down with injuries. In his first start back with the Cardinals, Saggese had three hits in four at bats and then he hit three homers in the next two games at Dodger Stadium. After his call up from Triple-A, Saggese had six multi-hit games and gave the Cardinals hopes again that he could be an every-day player in their starting lineup.   

Looking forward to 2027: Could Saggese be the Cardinals answer at third base in 2027? His strong finish showed that when given consistent playing time, he can be a productive hitter. He played third base in 12 games (seven starts) in 2026 and did not commit and error in 12 total chances. In his career, Saggese has played third base in 32 games (21 starts) and he has committed three errors in 56 total chances.

Denton’s analysis: Saggese could have changed the trajectory of his career with his solid finish to the 2026 season. Now, the Cardinals must decide which player he is – the one who hit just .184 over his first 34 games of the season or the one who hit .279 in late August and September? One issue for Saggese to clean up is his high chase rate at the plate. He still chased pitches out of the strike zone 35.4 percent of the time in 2026 – up from 34.3 percent in 2025 and 40.9 percent (in limited at bats) in 2024. If the Cardinals pass on signing a free-agent third baseman, the club might look to use Blaze Jordan, Fermin and Saggese at third base again in 2027.