MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When Zack Thompson met with Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, and pitching coach Dusty Blake in early May when the Cardinals returned from a 10-game road trip, the news the lefty received about what the rest of his 2023 would entail was something he didn’t expect.
Thompson, a reliever at the big league level who was a part of the Cardinals’ postseason bullpen last October as a rookie, was optioned to Class AAA Memphis on May 2 after he had a 4.63 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 11 2/3 relief innings to begin 2023.