Cardinals Sign Zach Plesac to Minor League Deal
Zach Plesac is returning 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 in Memphis. Prior to this, Plesac had been playing for the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League, where he posted a 2.84 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate over seven starts.
His solid performance in independent ball was enough to catch the Cardinals’ attention, despite a difficult 2024 season with the Angels. Last year, Plesac appeared in just three Major League games, giving up 11 runs over 12 innings. His time in Triple-A wasn’t much better, as he recorded a 5.69 ERA across nearly 100 innings.
Plesac’s most notable MLB success came during the 2020 shortened season with Cleveland, where he put up a 2.28 ERA in eight starts. However, since then, he has struggled to regain that form, posting a 4.86 ERA over 58 appearances.
The Cardinals’ starting rotation has been remarkably healthy this season, using only six starters so far. Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, and Erick Fedde have all taken every turn. Steven Matz briefly joined to form a six-man rotation during a packed schedule and has since returned to the bullpen.
With a busy stretch ahead and just one scheduled off-day remaining in June, the team could return to a six-man rotation. Liberatore recently left a start due to general fatigue, though it’s not expected to impact his availability. Prospect Michael McGreevy may be called up as soon as Sunday to help out, which would allow Plesac to take a spot in the Triple-A rotation.
