Welcome to St. Louis, Zach Plesac!
The St. Louis Cardinals are currently thin on starting pitching depth, but the recent addition of former Cleveland Guardians pitcher Zach Plesac could help address that issue.
The team officially announced Plesac’s signing on Friday. While many fans may remember him for his early success in Cleveland, Plesac has had difficulty holding down a consistent spot in a major league rotation in recent seasons. For those frustrated by the signing of another struggling starter mid-season, the reality is that pitchers with more consistent recent success simply aren’t available at this point in the year.
Zach Plesac has connections with new Cardinals’ front office members and gives them much needed depth
Zach Plesac, now 30, entered the majors with promise, debuting in 2019 for the Cleveland Guardians with a solid 3.81 ERA over 21 starts. He followed that up with an impressive 2.28 ERA across eight starts in the shortened 2020 season, setting expectations that he’d be a long-term rotation piece.
Although he didn’t maintain that dominance, Plesac was still a reliable innings-eater in 2021 and 2022, combining for 49 starts with a 4.49 ERA and a matching 4.59 FIP—largely thanks to his ability to avoid walks and induce soft contact. That type of profile isn’t flashy, but it’s serviceable, particularly for a team like St. Louis currently looking to patch up rotation depth.
What makes this signing more intriguing is the Cardinals’ front office connection. Rob Cerfolio, their new assistant GM for player development and performance, came from Cleveland and worked closely with Plesac throughout his rise. Larry Day, now heading player development for the Cardinals, also overlapped with Plesac in the Guardians system. Those relationships likely gave St. Louis a deeper understanding of what Plesac might still offer—and how best to optimize him moving forward.
Zach Plesac’s recent struggles are undeniable—an 8.25 ERA over limited action with the Angels in 2024 and a rough 2023 that led to his departure from Cleveland. But his recent stint with the Long Island Ducks (2.84 ERA, nearly 8 K/9) at least showed he still has something in the tank, and it makes sense that a team like St. Louis, with minimal upper-minors pitching depth, would take a low-risk flyer on him.
Given the injury pile-up among the Cardinals’ top prospects (Hence, Mathews, Hjerpe, Robberse, etc.), Plesac becomes a buffer option—someone who can step in without forcing the team to prematurely call up younger, still-developing arms or empty the bullpen. It’s not a move to be overly excited about, but for what it is—a veteran depth piece with major league innings under his belt—it’s a pragmatic addition.
The same goes for Tyler Matzek. He’s a lefty with postseason experience and big-league upside if he can rediscover form after missing time. Both Plesac and Matzek reporting to Memphis gives the Cardinals much-needed flexibility, especially in case the rotation or bullpen hits a rough patch later in the season.
