Saggese got his first at-bat in the game in the seventh inning where he plated Lars Nootbaar with a sacrifice fly that pulled the Cardinals to within 13 runs at 16-3. He made things a bit tighter in the ninth as he tagged Cooper Criswell for a 430-foot (109.0 mph EV) three-run shot that made it 18-7. He’s now 2-for-4 in his limited action on the season.

The Cardinals could have brought up José Fermín, who was in the running for the last bench spot, if they wanted someone who wouldn’t play much. That the 23-year-old Saggese is the choice instead suggests he’ll get at least a couple of starts per week while Nolan Gorman is out. Saggese started off 4-for-14 with a homer in four games at Memphis.

As we head into the final days of spring training, you’re going to see every club trim down their roster like this. The Cardinals now have just 31 players remaining in big league camp. Saggese’s best chance of making the Opening Day roster was for the Cardinals to trade Nolan Arenado, but as that still hasn’t happened he’ll be ticketed for Triple-A Memphis to start the 2025 campaign.

Saggese also walked today, leaving him 4-for-17 with a 7/1 K/BB this spring. The Cardinals appear open to carrying the 22-year-old as a part-timer initially, though he would still seem to have something to prove in Triple-A after hitting .253/.313/.438 for Memphis last season. A Nolan Arenado trade would give Saggese much more of a chance to make an impact in the early going, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen at this point.