Zach Plesac has returned to affiliated baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals have signed the right-handed pitcher to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.
Prior to this, Plesac had been playing in the Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks.
During his time in independent ball, Plesac impressed, posting a 2.84 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate over seven starts.
His performance was strong enough to convince the Cardinals that he could be a reliable depth option for their rotation.
This marks a rebound attempt after a difficult 2024 season with the Angels, where he struggled in both the majors and Triple-A. In the big leagues, he allowed 11 runs over 12 innings across three starts, while his Triple-A stats included a 5.69 ERA over nearly 100 innings in 18 appearances.
It’s been a few years since Plesac consistently pitched well at the major league level.
His best season came in 2020 with Cleveland, when he recorded a 2.28 ERA over eight starts during the pandemic-shortened campaign.
However, that success came against a limited and relatively weak schedule, and he has since posted a 4.86 ERA over 58 major league outings.
As for the Cardinals, they’ve had exceptional stability in their starting rotation this season, using just six starters.
Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and Erick Fedde have each made all 12 scheduled starts, with Steven Matz temporarily joining as a sixth starter before moving back to the bullpen.
However, with a demanding stretch of games ahead — and only one off day remaining in June — the team may return to a six-man rotation.
Liberatore left his most recent start early due to fatigue, though he’s not expected to miss time.
MLB.com’s John Denton recently reported that pitching prospect Michael McGreevy could be called up as early as Sunday, likely to bolster the rotation while Matz remains in relief.
If that happens, Plesac would be a logical choice to fill a starting spot in Triple-A.
