Zach Plesac, a former Cleveland Guardians starter, was just signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, which should allay some of the team’s worries about their current extremely poor starting pitching depth.
Plesac, who most fans would recall from his early career success with the Guardians but has failed to keep a rotation slot at the major league level in recent years, was signed by the Cardinals on Friday afternoon. I hate to break it to you, but it’s the only way a guy like that is available at the moment. it’s why the Cardinals signed another starter who has struggled in prior years in the middle of the season.
Zach Plesac has connections with new Cardinals’ front office members and gives them much needed depth
Plesac, who is currently 30 years old, made his Guardians debut in 2019 and recorded a 3.81 ERA in 21 starts. He then had a fantastic 2020 season, with an ERA of 2.28 in the eight appearances he made during the COVID-shortened season. It appeared like he would be a part of their rotation for many years to come.
Although 2021 and 2022 weren’t particularly noteworthy, Plesac pitched 274.1 innings for Cleveland in 49 starts and one relief appearance, recording a 4.49 ERA. He maintained the majority of his performance by avoiding walks and permitting soft contact, and his 4.59 FIP was exactly in line with his real figures. Does that sound familiar?
Even though his makeup isn’t very thrilling, the front staff found him to be a potentially depth starter for the Cardinals for the remainder of the season, and one of their newest members has a close relationship with Plesac.
Rob Cerfolio, the new assistant general manager of player development and performance for the Cardinals, was formerly with the Guardians, where he most recently oversaw the organization’s player development. Cerfolio would have collaborated with Plesac during his tenure with the Guardians because of his function, which requires him to be quite involved with all organizational levels. Plesac also spent time in Cleveland with Larry Day, the new head of player development for the Cardinals.
Plesac has had a lot of trouble lately. In 2023, he had five awful starts before being cut by the Guardians, and in 2024, he only made three starts for the Los Angeles Angels, with an 8.25 ERA. Plesac joined with the Atlantic League Baseball team, the Long Island Ducks, in April. He struck out nearly eight hitters per nine innings and recorded a 2.84 ERA.
Plesac is now a perfect match for St. Louis as a depth option because of his big league experience and starting credentials. The Cardinals have few options if they need innings, even though the major league rotation has been healthy this season aside from Michael McGreevy in Memphis. Tekoah Roby is still at Double-A, Cooper Hjerpe, Sem Robberse, Brian Holiday, and other pitching prospects are finished for the season, while Quinn Mathews and Tink Hence have lost a lot of time because of injuries this year. Even though the Cardinals most likely don’t want to use Plesac, they can do so if necessary without feeling rushed or like they’re handing up a game right away.
The Cardinals signed left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek to a minor league contract this week to bolster their bullpen options, making this their second depth addition. At some point this year, both are anticipated to report to Memphis and attempt to earn spots on the major league team’s roster.
