Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 22-Year-Old Making Opening Day Decision Impossible

The Cardinals are going to have to make some tough decisions
Patrick McAvoy|
Jul 12, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats as the St. Louis Cardinals play a simulated game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2020; St. Louis, Missouri, United States; A view of empty seats as the St. Louis Cardinals play a simulated game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have some really exciting, young players knocking on the big league door but there aren't many spots to go around right now.

St. Louis obviously wanted to get a lot of trades done this offseason but that didn't work out. The chatter specifically was around Nolan Arenado who remains with the Cardinals. St. Louis is fortunate to have him as he's been one of the best third basemen in baseball of his generation.

With Arenado still in town, it makes things somewhat tricky from a roster-building perspective involving some of the team's younger guys. At this moment, it seems like the most likely configuration for St. Louis is going to be Willson Contreras at first base, Nolan Gorman at second base, Masyn Winn at shortstop, Arenado at third base, and an outfield consisting of some variation of Jordan Walker, Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, Victor Scott II, and Michael Siani.

There's still time left in Spring Training for guys to earn roles, but this at least seems likely at this time barring injuries. One guy who this could impact is No. 5 prospect Thomas Saggese. He made his big league debut last year and appeared in 18 games down the stretch.

Saggese can play all over the infield and has been fantastic so far in Spring Training. As of writing, Saggese has appeared in nine games and is slashing .292/.370/.417 with one home run, two RBIs, three walks, and four runs scored.

He's just 22 years old and likely would've played a significant role if Arenado had been traded. He's playing well and looks like he could be a guy that could help the Cardinals. But are there enough spots to go around? Gorman and Arenado have both struggled offensively so far in camp. There is time left to turn things around.

At this point, it doesn't seem like Saggese will have a big role to kick off the 2025 campaign at least, but if he can keep playing the way he has, he's going to make things difficult for the Cardinals as they finalize the Opening Day roster.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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