The St. Louis Cardinals option Zack Thompson, call up Guillermo Zuniga

The Cardinals sent down Zack Thompson and brought up reliever Guillermo Zuniga

The St. Louis Cardinals made a roster move as anticipated, optioning LHP Zack Thompson to Triple-A Memphis and calling up RHP Guillermo Zuniga to the Major League roster.

While the move came as a surprise to many, Thompson has been struggling as of late for the club. Over his last four appearances, Thompson has allowed six runs on six hits and five walks across just 3.1 innings of work. Taking some time to refine his stuff over the next few weeks may be good for him, as the Cardinals already have Genesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero have been pitching well from the left side for St. Louis.

Zuniga, 24, broke out on the international stage at the World Baseball Classic for Colombia and has been really good in seven out of his nine relief appearances in Memphis so far this season. From April 6th to April 28th, Zuniga threw seven innings while giving up no runs, two hits, and one walk while striking out six batters. In his most recent appearance, he gave up a three-run home that has caused his ERA to balloon to 5.40, but overall, he’s been very good this year.

One thing to note here is that Thompson is being stretched out as a starter in Memphis. Matthew Liberatore and Gordon Graceffo are in Memphis right now and could factor into the rotation sooner than later, but with how things have gone so far this year, it’s not a bad idea to develop more depth for this year and competition for the 2024 rotation.