"Talk to baseball folks about Saggese, and a few phrases start to become themes: “throwback,” “old school,” “plays the right way,” “old soul,” “that’s my guy” and “glue guy” are some I heard on repeat from front office members and former teammates." (Levi Weaver and Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 9/11/2024)

Thomas Darren Saggese (born April 10, 2002 in Carlsbad, CA) is an American professional baseball infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024. The surname "Saggese" is primarily from the Foggia region of Italy, as per GeneaNet.org

As per The Athletic: Thomas overcame much adversity and bouts of anxiety in his youth: “Yeah, I went through a shooting when I was in third grade,” he said. “A shooting at my school. So that kinda triggered (the anxiety).” Though everyone survived, multiple children were shot. Thomas said his parents, Tom and Wendi Saggese, were essential to his recovery, enrolling him in a program with author Byron Katie (whose work Saggese said he still used in learning to deal with tough days early in his career).

All the while, he was playing baseball, and said his mom was his biggest supporter, constantly helping him find ways to improve. She also worked as a speaker, coach and consultant, with a focus on finding new perspectives to work through tough situations. And then, her videos began to cover a new topic: living with stage 4 cancer. She passed away when Thomas was 17.

Saggese attended Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, California. As a junior in 2019, he hit .422 with 10 home runs over 102 at-bats. He batted .440 with three home runs over seven games in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the fifth round with the 145th overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the club for $800,000, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Pepperdine University.

Thomas made his professional debut in 2021 with the Down East Wood Ducks of the Low-A East, batting .256 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases over 73 games. He opened the 2022 season with the Hickory Crawdads of the High-A South Atlantic League, where he was named the Rangers' Minor League Player of the Month for July. He was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League for the seasons final week and playoffs. Over 103 games between the two teams, he slashed .312/.361/.506/868 with 15 home runs, 70 RBI, 25 doubles, and 12 stolen bases. Saggese received the Texas Rangers 2022 True Ranger Award, and was named to the South Atlantic League postseason All-Star Team. He returned to Frisco to open the 2023 season.

On July 30, 2023, Saggese, John King, and Tekoah Roby were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton. He was assigned to the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Texas League before being promoted to the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A International League in early September. Over 139 games played, Thomas slashed .306/.374/.530 with 26 home runs, 111 RBIs, and 34 doubles. After the season, he won the 2023 Texas League Most Valuable Player Award.

On September 10, 2024, Saggese was selected to the 40-man roster, promoted, and made his MLB debut against the Cincinnati Reds in replacement of Brendan Donovan, who was out due to a foot injury.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)