1 week Ago
Many people are wondering why the St. Louis Cardinals just demoted a player with a .341 batting average.
News surfaced on Monday that St. Louis decided to option 23-year-old infielder Thomas Saggese to Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. Saggese is young, but he’s been excelling at the plate for the Cardinals this year with a slash line of .
341/.364/.512 in 41 at-bats.
Why would St. Louis send a guy with those numbers down to the minors? Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was asked about the Saggese decision on Monday and explained the reasoning, via MLB.com’s John Denton : “Oli Marmol on Thomas Saggese: "At the end of the day, it's about Saggese not getting in the lineup as much.
He's the type of player with his age and skill set he needs to play every day and learn the game and play defense. That was going to be tough to do here." In Marmol’s defense, there is a bit of a logjam in St.
Louis’ infield with Nolan Arenado, Masyn Winn, and Brendan Donovan all ahead of Saggese on the depth chart at the non-first-base positions. Still, you have to think that Marmol could figure out a way to keep Saggese on the big-league roster, especially given how he’s been hitting. Saggese has been more productive than Winn, for one.
Winn is a massive talent in his own right who deserves a starting role, but St. Louis’ decision on Saggese is still confusing. When you’re not rewarding production with playing time, players begin to lose faith in the direction of the clubhouse.
The Saggese situation isn’t a huge issue (the 2025 season has just begun), but it’s something to monitor. More MLB: Cardinals Have Discovered 'Long-Term Solution' In Outfield, MLB Writer Says.
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