The St. Louis Cardinals have added veteran left-hander Josh Fleming on a minor-league contract, assigning the 30-year-old to Triple-A Memphis.
The move, first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and later confirmed by the organization’s player-development staff, brings a familiar face and extra pitching depth to the system as the season heads into its final stretch.
Fleming, a Bridgeton, Missouri native, has been a major-league pitcher since 2020. The Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft out of Webster University, and he made his big-league debut that August, earning a win with five innings of two-run ball.
He spent the bulk of his career with the Rays as a swingman—spot starter and multi-inning reliever—before later stops with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. In 81 career appearances (25 starts), Fleming is 20-14 with a 4.86 ERA, 162 strikeouts, and 257 2/3 innings.
He relies on a sinker that sits around 90 mph, attacks the strike zone, and generates ground balls rather than swing-and-miss stuff.
His 2026 path has been typically itinerant for a veteran depth arm. Fleming opened the year on a minor-league deal with Toronto, earned a one-game call-up in April, and allowed four runs in three innings against the Dodgers before being designated for assignment the next day.
He returned to the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club, then signed with the Chicago Cubs in July. In six weeks with Iowa he posted a 3.44 ERA in 18 1/3 innings before being released. Combined across Triple-A this season he has a 3.16 ERA in 82 2/3 innings.
The signing carries a local and organizational wrinkle. Fleming was drafted while current Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was still in the Rays’ front office.
For St. Louis, the addition is typical August depth: another experienced left-hander who can soak up innings at Memphis or step into a bulk-relief or spot-start role if injuries or roster needs arise.
It is not a splashy move, but it gives the Cardinals a pitcher who has already proven he can handle major-league hitters and who knows the area.
Fleming will report to Memphis immediately. Whether the contract is selected before the end of the regular season will depend on how he performs and how the Cardinals’ pitching staff holds up.
For a pitcher who has spent six seasons in the majors since 2020, the chance to pitch for his hometown organization is a notable late-career chapter.
