The Cardinals acquired Saggese, right-hander Tekoah Roby and left-hander John King from the Rangers on Sunday in exchange for left-hander Jordan Montgomery and right-hander Chris Stratton, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Of the three minor-league players heading back to St. Louis, Saggese projects to have the most long-term real-life and fantasy value. The 21-year-old has dabbled at shortstop, second base and third base during his time at Double-A Frisco this season, but he'll probably be a better fit defensively at one of the latter two positions once he reaches the big leagues. Saggese lacks any standout tools but has been a well above league-average hitter at each stop in the minors since being selected by Texas in the fifth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft. Over 417 plate appearances with Frisco this season, Saggese slashed .320/.385/.522 with an 8.5 percent walk rate, a 22.5 percent strikeout rate, 15 home runs and eight steals (in 10 attempts).