is back in affiliated ball. The Cardinals announced that theyve signed the righty to a minor league deal and a signed him to Triple-A Memphis. Plesac had spent the past couple months pitching in the Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks. Plesac pitched well in the independent ranks. He turned in a 2.84 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate over seven starts. His stuff was sharp enough for the Cardinals to view him as a viable depth Chris Paul Jersey starter. Plesac needed to pitch his way back to affiliated ball after a rough 2024 season with the Angels. He only made three MLB starts and was blitzed for 11 runs acro s 12 innings. Things didnt go much better in Triple-A, where he allowed a 5.69 ERA through 99 2/3 frames spanning 18 appearances. It has been a while since Plesac was an effective starter. He was brilliant for Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season, turning in a 2.28 ERA over eight outings. That came against a generally weak slate of lineups with teams playing a limited schedule, though, and the former 12th-round pick wasnt able to build off it. He owns a 4.86 ERA in 58 MLB appearances since that season. St. Louis has had the best rotation health of any team this year. Theyve only used six starters. , , , and have each taken all 12 turns. briefly joined the group when they used a six-man rotation to navigate a busy part of the schedule. He started twice and is now back in the bullpen. They have another hectic stretch coming up, as they only have one off day (on June 16) for the remainder of the month. That could lead them to go back to a six-man rotation. Liberatore also left yesterdays outing a little early with general fatigue, though theres no indication itll impact his ability to make his next start. John Denton of MLB.com that pitching prospect could be recalled as soon as this Sunday to fill out the staff presumably with Matz staying in the bullpen. If thats how things play out, Plesac can backfill the Triple-A rotation. Russell Westbrook Jersey