The much-anticipated Major League Baseball trade deadline came and went Tuesday and, while much of the focus was on big-league millionaires changing uniforms, minor-league prospects were not immune from upheaval.
Thomas Saggese showed up at the Springfield Cardinals clubhouse Tuesday mid-morning, a bit groggy from a 6:30 a.m. flight out of Dallas. His Texas Rangers and Frisco Roughriders gear was in tow.
Soon, he swapped the outdated belongings — duffle bags and all — for fresh, new Springfield Cardinals apparel. One of three Rangers minor leaguers acquired on Sunday by the Cardinals for big-league pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton, Saggese was in the lineup on Tuesday night at Hammons Field wearing the birds-on-the-bat white-and-red jersey with No. 33.
A ‘crazy' 48 hours for Saggese
Saggese went 1-for-4 with a single and a walk as Springfield defeated the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 8-2. He made a nifty fielding play in the fourth inning, ranging far to his left to scoop, whirl and throw out the runner at first by a step.
It probably seemed like a blur for the 21-year-old second baseman, who is No. 8 in the Cardinals’ farm system rankings.
“Crazy,” Saggese said before the game, assessing the previous 48 hours. “It’s been unreal. Like a weird, weird experience. A lot of emotions. Lots of ups and downs.”
Saggese found out during Frisco’s game on Sunday afternoon that he was being traded when the Rangers’ field coordinator pulled him aside in the fifth inning. He had been told on Saturday that a trade was a possibility, but nothing was in cement.
Even though he is aware that baseball is a business, Saggese said it was an emotional time leaving the organization that selected him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, out of Carlsbad High School in California.
“A lot of goodbyes and sad moments, saying goodbye to teammates,” Saggese said of packing his bags and riding the team bus back to Frisco with his suddenly ex-teammates. It was a teeter-totter of emotions, saying goodbyes while looking ahead to a new opportunity.
“Then a lot of excitement, too, coming to a new organization and opportunity,” he said. “A lot of packing and traveling. But I’m happy to be here. I’m excited for a new opportunity and a chance to meet new guys.
“This park looks sweet. The new experience should be fun.”
Second baseman having a breakout season
Saggese’s swing has been sweet throughout his three minor-league seasons, as he rose through the Rangers system. He entered Tuesday’s game with a .299 career batting average in 269 minor-league games, with 40 home runs. He was promoted near the end of last season and helped the Roughriders win a Texas League championship.
This season has been an absolute breakout for the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder. He hit .313 in 93 games for Frisco, with 15 home runs and 78 RBIs, second most in the Texas League.
Saggese, who was polite and soft-spoken in a pre-game session with local media members, credited his parents for instilling a work ethic that’s helped him improve each season.
“They taught me that if I want to be good, I have to work,” Saggese said. “I was never really crazy gifted, but I think through hard work I got a lot better and that’s something they instilled in me.
“I feel like (now) I’m pretty solid in everything that I do. Mainly I just try to play hard. My mental game is my strength. That’s something that I continue to work on and improve at. At this level, the necessary improvement that needs to be made comes from the mental side of things. I want to be someone who’s known as someone who plays hard.”
New teammates welcome Saggese with open arms — and jokes
He’s also learning to master one of the toughest things for a young player, which is accepting failure when it happens in a sport in which it’s going to happen more often than not for a hitter.
“Just being able to let things go is a huge thing I’ve worked on this year,” he said. “Playing the game with joy, no matter what, that’s something I told myself I wanted to do. That’s really helped my results.”
Reflecting on his situation with the Rangers, Saggese said it shouldn’t have been a shock that he was traded.
“I definitely thought about it, with the Rangers being kind of stacked with all the infield positions pretty much locked up for the foreseeable future,” Saggese said. “I thought about it happening at some point, but then when it happens, it’s different.
“It’s very exciting and very good for my career. It’s bittersweet, because I was so close to those guys, but it was necessary for my career. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Cardinals organization. It’s exciting.”
Saggese already got some good-natured ribbing from his new teammates, who were quick to point out that he went off on the Cardinals during a six-game series at Frisco in late June. He went 13-of-22 at the plate (.591), including a triple and home run. He scored seven runs and knocked in seven in the six-game series.
“I’ve gotten that from a couple of guys, so that’s been fun,” a laughing Saggese said of the clubhouse banter. “They’ve been joking with me about that.”
Springfield manager getting to know his new player
Springfield manager Jose Leger said that he didn’t know much about Saggese other than that impressive series. He spent some time prior to Tuesday’s game chatting with his new second baseman and emphasized to him to keep things simple in the transition.
“Our guys already are welcoming him and making him feel at home right away,” Leger said. “He came in and he’s a very polite kid. He’s having a good year and we just want him to continue doing his thing. We tell him ‘Hey, you’ve already played in the league, it’s not like you’re making a big change, you’re just changing uniforms.’
“I got to speak to him a little bit. He’s very polite and very attentive when you talk to him. I told him, ‘Listen, it’s gonna take a couple of days for you to get accustomed to what we have going on here. We don’t want to throw a lot at you right away. It’s gonna be an adaptation period, but for now, just think about enjoying yourself and play the game like you have all season.’”
Former teammate will be a teammate again soon
Saggese is looking forward to his Frisco teammate also in the trade, Tekoah Roby, joining him in Springfield. Roby — St. Louis’ No. 4 minor-league prospect — reported to the Cardinals’ training complex in Jupiter, Florida, to rehab a shoulder strain and is expected to make his Springfield debut in a few weeks.
“I’ve been teammates with him for three years. He’s one of my better friends in that organization,” Saggese said. “I love the guy. I signed with him in 2020, so he’s the first person I met and he’s a really good dude and he works really hard. He’s a good pitcher who attacks the zone and he’s one of my best friends. It’s gonna be sweet to have him here.”
Cardinals at Hammons Field this week
Tuesday — Springfield 8, Northwest Arkansas 2
Wednesday — 6:35 p.m. vs. Northwest Arkansas (Woof Wednesday)
Thursday — 7:05 p.m. vs. Northwest Arkansas (Route 66 super soft shirt giveaway)
Friday — 7:05 p.m. vs. Northwest Arkansas (Adam Wainright bobblehead giveaway, Friday Night Fireworks)
Saturday — 6:35 p.m. vs. Northwest Arkansas (Lars Nootbaar “Grind the pepper” bobblehead giveaway)
Sunday — 6:05 p.m. vs. Northwest Arkansas (Ice Cream Sunday)
Tickets — Visit the Hammons Field box office or the Springfield Cardinals website
