Saggese setting himself up to be jack of all trades for Cards

JUPITER, Fla. -- If any team in baseball knows the importance of a super-utility player, it’s the Cardinals.

In recent years, Tommy Edman, Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson have given Oliver Marmol a number of options on a daily basis, their versatility allowing the manager to get creative with his lineups.

Thomas Saggese is hoping to become the latest Swiss Army Knife in Marmol’s arsenal.

“I think it will be very good for me -- and hopefully the team -- to just be able to move me wherever and get in games like that,” Saggese said. “I got in a lot of games last year just because I could play around the infield, so to now be able to play in the outfield, if I can get plugged in anywhere and hopefully be above average, I feel like that's huge. Every team needs a guy like that.”

On Thursday the 23-year-old started in left field against the Astros, his first time playing the outfield since Little League. Only one ball was hit in his direction, a line-drive double by Brice Matthews that Saggese fielded and fired into the cutoff man. Still, just getting a feel for being in the outfield during a game was a learning experience.

“It's lonely out there,” he said. “It's different; you're a lot farther from the action.”

As the Cardinals search for a right-handed-hitting outfielder, Saggese could wind up being part of the solution.

Saggese has been working out with outfield coach Jon Jay, but both Saggese and Marmol agreed that getting into games as soon as possible would be the best way for him to get a feel for the position.

“Some people take to it quickly, some don't; that's why you have to at some point just fire him out there and see what it looks like,” Marmol said. “His mentality is not one where it's hesitant or timid, like, ‘Man, I'm not sure if I'm ready for it yet’ or ‘I hope this goes well.’ A couple days into practicing, he was like, ‘Just put me out there and let’s start the process and we'll learn as we go,’ which is what you want as someone that's going to be in his position and have versatility in kind of that super-utility type of role.”

Saggese played 18 games between second base, shortstop and third base during his September callup in 2024, then appeared in 82 games last season between the same three positions. The Cardinals’ plan is to give him time in both left and center (where he’s scheduled to start on Saturday), though with him leaving this week to join Team Italy for the World Baseball Classic, he will have fewer opportunities to get that outfield work in than he otherwise would have.

“He's put in the work,” Marmol said. “Jon Jay has worked really hard with him, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to test it out. He's eager to get out there, and if he makes a mistake, who cares? Keep going and learn from it.”

Donovan was a valuable and versatile piece for the Cardinals during each of Marmol’s first four seasons as manager, in 2022 winning the first National League Gold Glove awarded to a utility player. Edman held a similar role during Marmol’s first two seasons before he was traded to the Dodgers in 2024, while Burleson has seen time at first base and both corner outfield spots during his first three-plus years in St. Louis, winning the NL Silver Slugger as a utility player in 2025.

Marmol believes it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle a super utility role successfully, as the need to “dial in your workload” of taking reps at multiple positions can wear on a player. Having a solid, disciplined routine is critical, something Saggese is quickly learning this spring.

“Some people have the mentality to be able to do it, and some people, although they try, get stuck on the anxiety of learning a new position or being able to maintain all of them,” Marmol said. “It takes the right personality to be able to do it.”

Saggese believes he has the personality to handle the job. Now it’s all about getting the experience, and Thursday was an important step.

“Maybe BP will simulate it a little bit, but nothing will be the real thing,” Saggese said. “You never know until you go try it in a game. I'm all for it, because I feel like the more reps I get out there in a game, the more comfortable I'll be.”