Ironically, the St. Louis Cardinals will be calling up one of the Reds’ previous top prospects before starting a four-game series in Cincinnati on Monday. According to a report from Francys Romero, José Barrero, a 27-year-old middle-infielder and outfielder, is being called up. In order to create room for Barrero on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals will need to make another move as infielder Thomas Saggese is anticipated to be optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
In June 2017, Barreo signed his first minor league contract with Cincinnati. He made his Major League Baseball debut in 2020 after spending six seasons in the Reds organization. In 139 career games with the Reds (2020-’23), Barrero hit just .186 with four home runs and 32 RBI to go with 163 strikouts.
Last November, the Cardinals signed the free agent to a minor league contract after he briefly played in the Texas Rangers’ farm system. Barrero had a strong spring training season with the Cardinals, hitting.227 in 24 games with two home runs, eight RBI, and four stolen bases. He was hitting.299 with four home runs and 14 RBI during a 19-game on-base streak with Triple-A Memphis when he was called up.
According to MLB.com’s John Denton, the Cardinals are optioning Saggese to Triple-A in an effort to give him additional playing time, even though he has slashed.341/.364/.512 in 44 plate appearances with the major league club this season. The Cardinals start their four-game series against the Reds on Monday night with right-hander Andre Pallante (2-1, 4.05 ERA) in the mound. The time of the first pitch is set at 5:40 p.m. CT.
