The Cardinals are known to be looking for outfield help, and preferably a right-handed bat given previous statements from president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Adding a free agent is still a possibility, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cards “have not expressed much interest in” Randal Grichuk, and target Austin Hays chose the White Sox over the Cardinals in part because Chicago was offering more playing time.
Rather than bring in a new player, the Cards are also exploring internal options by using Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin as outfielders this spring. This isn’t anything new for Fermin, who has played six MLB games and 19 minor league games as an outfielder in addition to his larger amount of playing time at second, third and shortstop. For career infielder Saggese, he told Goold that he hasn’t played in the outfield since he was 10 years old.
Nonetheless, adding to his defensive versatility should help Saggese in his bid for more playing time. Saggese drew some top-100 prospect attention prior to his big league debut in 2024, though he has hit only .250/.292/.336 over the small sample size of 347 Major League plate appearances. Sticking in the infield could be tricky with Masyn Winn at shortstop, top prospect JJ Wetherholt on the verge of his MLB debut (likely at second base), and Nolan Gorman penciled in for third base. It could be that St. Louis is trying to mold Saggese into a right-handed hitting version of the now-traded Brendan Donovan, as a super-utility option who can be bounced around the diamond.
More from around the NL Central…
- Justin Steele told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that his rehab work has progressed to 30-pitch bullpen sessions, and he is planning to return to the Cubs rotation in May or June. Steele underwent a UCL revision surgery last April that included the installation of an internal brace in his elbow, and “as I started throwing again, it felt the same. There was no difference — whereas the first Tommy John I had [in 2017], it felt like I had a new arm, I had to re-learn how to use it.” It remains to be seen if Steele can immediately recapture his old form once he returns, but having a former All-Star back should provide a nice boost for the Cubs in their request to return to the postseason.
- Before Luis Rengifo was signed to a one-year, $3.5MM guarantee on Friday, the Brewers also had interest in free agent infielder Ramon Urias, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Since Milwaukee apparently plans to use Rengifo primarily as a third baseman, Rosenthal notes that the signing was “somewhat curious” from a glovework perspective — Urias was the AL Gold Glove winner at third base in 2022, and his career defensive metrics at both second and third base are far superior to Rengifo’s numbers. The Brewers are the first team known to have interest in Urias since the Astros non-tendered him in November rather than pay a projected $4.4MM in arbitration salary. Urias had a 108 wRC+ (from a .262/.328/.408 slash line) over 1465 PA in part-time action with the Orioles from 2020-24, but he slumped to an 87 wRC+ and a .241/.292/.384 slash in 391 PA with Baltimore and Houston in 2025.
Cardinals bench: Thomas Saggese/Nelson Velazquez/Bryan Ramos/Jimmy Crooks
They are rebuilding, so yes they are avoiding spending on upgrades
Gorman turns 26 in May, SS Winn 24 next month. Winn is actually younger than Saggese! And neither of them is blocking Saggese – he’ll be at 2B if he plays in the IF, which neither of them will do. Gorman may well play 1B – Saggese isn’t slotted for 1B or SS and he certainly hasn’t taken the ball and run with it.
And no one is blocking top prospect Wetherholt (23) – he’s expected to make the club, helping push Gorman to 1B. There aren’t any other STL IF prospects close to the majors or regarded nearly as highly.
I’d agree they should push the prospects if ready and the incumbents were pushing past their prime years. Gorman hasn’t been a clear success either but at 26 they can hope he rebounds to his earlier success for a year or so before cutting bait.
Sorry, with Burleson also penned into 1B time and another lefty bat, Gorman may be moving around too. And while I agree they should give kids a shot when rebuilding, they also have to earn it. Let’s see how it plays out. Cards have a bigger need in the OF right now anyway. Give Saggese looks out there in the spring and see how it goes. Can option him if he needs more reps and bring him back when more ready but see how it plays out in spring. Keep your options open is the best policy.
If everyone is healthy the opening day team would probably be c) Pages 1st) Burleson 2nd) Wetherholt 3rd) Gorman ss) Winn lf) Nootbaar cf) Scott rf) Walker DH) Herrera
I have literally never heard anyone describe a very good 24 year old shortstop with 4 years of control left as being in the way of a rebuild….
Gorman and Winn are blocking no one. Winn is a building block at SS. Gorman is finally getting a chance to play at his natural defensive position. Wetherholt, another building block, slides into 2B. Burleson, a third building block, moves into 1B. If Gorman (who is only 26) bombs at 3B, then Saggese slides into 3B and Gorman moves to utility or traded at the deadline in July.
Nobody is blocking anybody.
Who are Gorman and Winn blocking?
They’re not trying to contend.
There’s also nothing wrong with non-Cardinals fans not knowing anything about the Cardinals’ current situation.
I agree, but Pages is just the defensive guy holding a spot until Herrera proves he can throw or Crooks proves he can hit. Pages is a temp.
Old York: The Cardinals are calling it a “build.” EVERYONE else is calling a “rebuild.” Apparently, the only person who doesn’t understand this is you.
The payroll is “mid-tier” because they’re paying $44 million for three players to play in Boston and Arizona.
The remaining amount is about $100 million. Only five teams are lower than that.
This is a rebuild, whether you and the DeWitts like that word or not.
@Old York Saggese may technically be blocked, but he’s the only one, and that’s only if Gorman actually outplays him.
Guys like Winn and Gorman are not veterans by any definition and are the exact kinds of building blocks that rebuilding teams use in their lineups. The fact that the lineup is already halfway to contention with young quality players just means the rebuild will be a shorter one, perhaps ready to compete by 2027 depending on how quickly their pitching develops, at which point they are going to need guys like Winn, Burleson, and Herrera to anchor the lineup.
But for now, they are indeed rebuilding, especially on the pitching side, or they wouldn’t have traded away guys like Contreras, Gray, and especially Donovan. The team is certainly NOT claiming to be competitive this year.
Sorry, I meant compete by 2028. 2027 would be a nice surprise but very unlikely.
You realize Gorman and Winn are young don’t you. Winn more than likely will get an extension in the near future.
Your arguments have some merit. I look at it as an analogy to knocking down the house but not leveling it and still keeping the foundations.
Because Nolan Gorman’s value is next to nothing right now (If he starts producing he is a sure fire trade candidate) and Masyn is 24 with 4 years of team control (someone you build around).
You really are just a rage baiter. There is no way to do everything in one year. You simply lime to re-read your comments. I guarantee you come back often to read them. Let’s test that theory and see if you come back to comment on a days old feed.
Cards love to play their players out of position.
None of the current starters are playing out of position. This article is about a right-handed hitting, back-up outfielder.
Personally, I think Fermin is a better hitter than anyone left on the FA market. He doesn’t field well anywhere, and he doesn’t have the veteran presence of someone like Cutch, but he’s relatively okay for a fifth outfielder against lefty starters.
I don’t know if for certain, but I assume Saggese is a better outfield glove than Fermin. He hasn’t had as many opportunities as Fermin, but it’s not a very high bar.
Better known as poor planning.
Cardinals still have Romero to utilize in a trade for an outfielder if needed.
Rengifo is 3 years younger and has more upside than a likely past his prime Urias who is better defensively but that is about all. Brewers likely betting Rengifo in AmFam park will hit well (or at least better than Urias)
Urias is a much better 2B defender than 3B.
Since 2023:
2B: +7 OAA in ~250 attempts
3B: -17 OAA in ~750 attempts
I think Urias on a 1-year deal to play 2B everyday for the Angels makes the most sense. Christian Moore is not ready for the big leagues and their other internal options (Grissom, Madrigal) suck.
They need to let Moore and Grissom battle for the job this spring. I agree that Madrigal sucks. Grissom is still young enough to get another shot at a starting job. The Angels are going nowhere this year anyway, so no need for a declining Urias.
Curious to Rosenthal who has exactly how much MLB front office experience?
The Cardinals would have a much better infield and offense with Saggese and Wetherholt at 2nd and 3rd…….
Either trade Gorman and let the young contact hitters play, or let Gorman stay in the minors to see if that contact swing comes to him.
The Cards have already waisted 2 seasons on Gorman … hoping he would improve and he’s gotten worse each year, both offensively and defensively!!!
He’ll never get better until he leaves St. Louis and his wanting to “only be a home run hitter” behind him!!!
Ultimately, I expect Fermin and Saggese to get most of the playing time at 3B. I don’t think they will give the Herrera returning to catcher experiment much time. I think Herrera is still young and athletic enough to be a decent left fielder and I believe that’s the direction they should push him because it best suites the needs of the player and the club.
As for Gorman, it’s probably going to be DH platoon if he hits or Memphis if he doesn’t. Walker should probably spend the year there as well, but since we don’t really have anyone else vying for the job, I guess Walker in RF by default.
As poor as last year was for Gorman, he still has a better MLB track record than Saggese does. Saggese may very well supplant Gorman by midseason, but he’s going to have to prove it by outplaying Gorman with the chances he gets.
He has a better track record as a hitter, not as a defender. I’m afraid Gorman will quickly prove to be unplayable at 3rd. He REALLY struggled with the throws last season. Saggese has looked fairly adept everywhere he’s been asked to play. In a year where developing young pitchers is the theme, defense is going to matter more than the occasional home run.
We’ll see. Gorman was at least playable at 2B, so 3B (which is supposed to be his natural position) shouldn’t be a problem in the long run unless it’s the length of the throws he can’t handle.
I suspect he was just having some trouble readjusting back to 3rd base on a regular basis after playing the position so sparingly over the last few years. I believe his defense did improve in September before Arenado came back from the IL.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope Gorman takes the position and runs with it. That solves multiple problems. I feel bad for the guy. He was asked to make a fairly difficult transition and given the state of the franchise, I’m sure he didn’t get nearly enough instruction or support. His effort was always there and he appeared to take pride in his defense even as he struggled. I hope it comes together for him this year. I just haven’t seen enough to make me believe it will.
Cubs have requested a return to the postseason from the baseball gods.
I saw that too.
Seems too many people rely on A.I. for everything.
Laziness…
Would’ve preferred Urias>Regnifo but hopefully the Crew really know much better….
How are the Pirates not in on Urias ?
Everyone is assuming the Cardinals are going to finish last. They might. But as much as my fellow Cubs fans and others want to think the Cards are at the beginning of a long, long rebuild–I look at their roster and it’s not bad. They could finish last in 2026, but if I were betting, I think I’d take the field…The IDEA that the Cardinsls are terrible seems to be overwhelming the REALITY that they aren’t.
I never knew a team could request to return to the postseason.
I think he meant “quest.”
Oh, well.
Penciling in Gorman as the 3rd baseman is a Joke. Career strikeout rate of 38%. A Mendoza line Career batting average. A Career 5% home run rate. An embarrassingly low walk rate and On Base Percentage. Add all of that together with being an average or below fielder at 2nd or 3rd base……. That’s not much.