After a series win against the Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals are switching up their position player depth before heading out to Cincinnati for a four-game series against the Reds. St. Louis is calling up former Reds top-prospect Jose Barrero, who is off to a scorching start with Memphis. Unfortunately, rookie infielder Thomas Saggese, who was called up when Masyn Winn hit the injured list earlier in the season, will be sent back down to Triple-A so he can receive regular at-bats as a starting infielder.

Barrero was on a 19-game on-base streak at the time of his promotion to the bigs, just in time for a revenge series against the organization with whom he made his major league debut back in 2020. With the Memphis Redbirds this season, Barrero is hitting .299 with four homers, five doubles, a triple, five stolen bases, and 13 RBIs. He has worked on his approach at the plate, trimming down his strikeout rate while his walk rate has ballooned to a phenomenal 13.9% in the minors. With the Redbirds, Barrero has seen time at shortstop, third base, and center field, giving the Cardinals some depth at each of those spots.

Thomas Saggese had some good spots in his most recent stint with the big league club, but with Winn, Brendan Donovan, and Nolan Gorman all healthy and guaranteed at-bats, there was little opportunity on the horizon for Saggese. He appeared in 14 games and received 44 at-bats with the Cardinals and hit well, putting up a .341 average with four doubles and a homer in his limited time. Rather than have him sit on the bench with few starting chances, the team opted it would be best for his development if he went down to Memphis and received regular playing time.