What Thomas Saggese was able to shed at Class AAA Memphis after his experience in the majors as a part-time player, like so many players before him, was the feeling he had to cram a game鈥檚 worth of production into one swing, a week鈥檚 worth of adjustments into one at-bat.
Fewer at-bats didn鈥檛 mean he had to do more in them.
It just felt that way.
鈥淧eople always say, 鈥楰now who you are,鈥 and I鈥檓 up there trying to be an MVP,鈥 Saggese said Friday afternoon at Busch Stadium. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to cover every pitch in every location before I鈥檓 like, hey, let me just get in the lineup and do my job. Let me just try to hit something hard somewhere first. You know what I mean?鈥
After more than two months of regular playing time with the Triple-A Redbirds, Saggese returned to the majors Friday to replace Blaze Jordan on the active roster.
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Who replaces Jordan in the third-base carousel is an open question.
The position is back there for the taking 鈥 and has been for months.
鈥淲e want to continue to give opportunity, mix and match, and keep guys fresh,鈥 manager Oli Marmol said. 鈥淎nd still give the appropriate time to the guys who are here.鈥
Nolan Gorman, who began the season as the Cardinals鈥 everyday third baseman started there Friday. He doubled and scored the first run in a 4-1 victory and finished the game 1-for-3 with a walk and three slick plays at the hot corner. The way the Cardinals currently view the position is a committee that Gorman will continue to share with veteran Ramon Urias, Jose Fermin, and Saggese. One of the reasons driving Saggese鈥檚 return to the majors Friday was his ability to play shortstop and alleviate innings there from rookie JJ Wetherholt.
Wetherholt would then shift back to second base, and that would add a second baseman to the choices for Marmol at third.
In a season designed to identify the team鈥檚 next generation of starters at positions 鈥 like Wetherholt at second or Kyle Leahy in the rotation 鈥 it is increasingly clear they won鈥檛 have that answer at third by the end of the season.
Jordan was set to get a longer look.
鈥淚 really liked where Blaze was headed,鈥 said Marmol of the third baseman who hit a three-run homer Thursday to raise his August average to .275 and slugging to .449. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what you鈥檙e trying to find out a little bit about is what he was able to do with a decent run of time.鈥 Jordan wrenched his left ankle after the homer in Thursday鈥檚 victory when trying to make an acrobatic tag for an out. He was in a hard boot Friday. He鈥檚 expected to miss several weeks with a sprained ankle that, he said, would not require surgery. Scans taken Thursday night of the joint did not reveal any structural damage. His timetable for a return will clearer next week as he begins putting more weight on the foot and the swelling subsides.
Jordan said he was in such pain after twisting his way to get an out at third that he does not recall the play.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 remember tagging him,鈥 Jordan said.
He wasn鈥檛 sure there was an out until he was being helped down the dugout stairs by two athletic trainers and he heard over the public address that the 鈥渃all is confirmed.鈥
Even with Jordan healthy, the Cardinals were split-shifting third baseman with some starts going to Gorman against right-handed starters and Jordan there for a lefty. Saggese offers that same handedness of bat, and similar versatility to Fermin all over the field and Urias in the infield.
When Saggese returned to Memphis in May, he had a .184 batting average in the majors and a .520 OPS over sporadic at-bats. The Cardinals felt the lack of playing time had upset Saggese鈥檚 rhythm, approach, and swing. They assigned him to get it back with regular at-bats in the minors, and he felt the need to zone-in his swing on strikes and specifically fastballs.
He felt limited at-bats left him chasing changes instead of sticking to what worked.
鈥淣ot playing everyday is hard, but I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 a good enough excuse for not playing well,鈥 Saggese said. 鈥淚 think that the problem lies when you hit the panic button and you鈥檙e kind of searching. I鈥檓 0-for-10, and I鈥檝e got to get a hit. This one fix is going to do it. If I put my hands right here, it鈥檚 going to work. Instead of like, no, I know what works.鈥
He was able to re-establish that at Memphis 鈥 what works.
And then repeat it because he got the at-bats to do so.
In his previous 28 games for Memphis, Saggese has hit .295 with a .543 slugging percentage and a .915 OPS. He 31 hits and 12 for extra-bases. He鈥檚 been playing every infield position consistently and that has brought the same out of his at-bats 鈥 more consistency. It is not what the Cardinals expect to get in the closing weeks from third, but it could determine who appears most there.
鈥淚 have a good amount of at-bats (in the majors) and it was like I鈥檓 trying to figure it out instead of just do what I did and then keep dialing that in,鈥 Saggese said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the idea. And now get better within that realm.鈥
Pallante faces hitters
To remain on track to start the day he鈥檚 eligible to come off the injured list, Andre Pallante (right elbow inflammation) faced hitters Friday afternoon at Busch Stadium in a live batting practice. Pallante threw 50 pitches, and he was able to simulate getting warmed up for four innings.
The Cardinals tracked his pitches on the scoreboard so he was able to see his velocity 鈥 which was holding in the mid-90s mph 鈥 and the shape of some pitches. He wanted to continue working on a changeup.
鈥淔elt really good, really happy,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason to slow down off the plan.鈥
The Cardinals placed Pallante on the 15-day IL to calm the inflammation in his elbow, and they plotted a recovery that would, at most, skip two starts. Pallante is eligible to come off the IL late next week during the upcoming road trip.
鈥淭hings checked out,鈥 Marmol said.
How Cards decided fantasy draft order
Bitten by the Fantasy Football bug as an investor in Steven Matz鈥檚 team several years ago, Pallante emerged this season as the commissioner of the Cardinals鈥 clubhouse league, a descendent of the leagues Adam Wainwright ran through the years.
He tasked Michael McGreevy with purchasing jerseys for all of the possible first-round picks, and those were scattered Friday on the Ping Pong table in the clubhouse.
Nearby was how the Cardinals determined draft order.
While some teams have had staff members run the bases or throw fastballs to determine the order of the draft, the Cardinals opted for a tabletop pocket golf game. The game borrows a cue from pool, some puck-like disks, and a layout that challenges to send the puck around hazards and into the greens. The players were sorted in the draft by lowest score after nine holes.
Jimmy Crooks and Quinn Mathews will draft first overall, Pallante said.
Some of the players are still awaiting clarification on scoring and rules from the commissioner, who admitted he鈥檚 given up other hobbies to focus on fantasy.
鈥淏een getting ready for this for three months,鈥 Pallante said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 cooked at all. Just been doing mock drafts.鈥
Baez meets former record-holder
The former Cardinals catcher who hit two home runs in the first two at-bats of his big-league career got to meet the current Cardinal who broke his record Friday afternoon.
Keith McDonald, who hit two homers in his first two major-league at-bats in 2000, stopped by Busch Stadium while on a business trip. That gave him a chance to shake hands and pose for photos with rookie Joshua Baez as the only two living ballplayers of the three who homered in their first two big-league at-bats. Baez did McDonald and the 最新杏吧原创 Browns鈥 Bob Nieman one better with homers in his first three at-bats earlier this month during his MLB debut at Wrigley Field.
McDonald said his brother texted him during Baez鈥檚 game to tell him his record had been matched, and then when Baez hit his third homer the text just read: 鈥淲ow.鈥
McDonald hit his two homers in different games and with different bats. One of those bats is at the Cardinals鈥 Hall of Fame and the other is in Cooperstown, New York, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Baez鈥檚 cleats are in Cooperstown, and that is one thing that McDonald and Baez share about their historic debuts.
They both wore borrowed cleats.
Baez got his from teammate Blaze Jordan.
McDonald disclosed Friday that he got his cleats from Class AAA Memphis teammate Jim Dougherty.
鈥淩ecords are made to be broken,鈥 McDonald said. 鈥淚 had my fun 26 years with it.鈥
Extra bases
On Friday night, several winners of an auction item had dinner at the ballpark with a trio of Cardinals shortstops: Ozzie Smith, David Eckstein, and Brendan Ryan. 鈥 Trevor Condon, the Cardinals鈥 first overall pick in this past month鈥檚 draft, went 1-for-3 Friday night for Class A Palm Beach 鈥 and actually lowered his average in his first week at the level. Condon, 18, has started his stint with the PB-Cardinals 6-for-16 (.375), and with two walks Friday he has more of those (three) than strikeouts (two).
最新杏吧原创 Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien speaks with the media after a series-ending win over the Orioles at Busch Stadium on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
