The Indians have reinstated starters Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac from the restricted list. In a surprising twist, both rotation members have been optioned to the alternate training site.
This news comes in the aftermath of a forehead-smacking decision by this talented pair of right-handed hurlers. They each violated collectively bargained MLB coronavirus protocols and then — as rotation mate Adam Plutko explained — lied to the team about their poor decisions.
The decision to option both pitchers came on the heels of a team meeting involving them both, as Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal covers (Twitter links). It’s clear the organization decided it had to send a message.
It’s unlikely but not impossible that the optional assignment will have a significant impact on either player’s contractual situation. Clevinger entered the year with 3.041 years of MLB service while Plesac had 125 days. Unless the Indians leave them down for an extended stretch, they’ll still be able to move into the next service class. But the move could ruin Plesac’s hopes for potential early arbitration qualification as a Super Two.
Maybe so they can get a hair cut apt?
I love it! Haha
These look like Dub-T idiots.
It’s Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne
There should be no cutting of the hair.
Exhibit A: Tim Lincecum.
Kryptonite, man. Kryptonite.
Alternate scenario: Jacob deGrom… in his case not kryptonite but super soldier serum
But Jake did trim it back quite a bit. Now, if we could just get Syndergaard to follow…
Or a bullpen that isn’t suicidal
Why do you guys have a problem with long hair in baseball players?
They think they’re George Steinbrenner.
Excellent question. Lol. The hair police are out in force on this thread.
It’s not your head, guys. This isn’t 1965.
A question of maturity. What’s the statement are they trying to make? That they can do anything they want to do, like not follow team rules and screw over their teammates..
I dont have a problem with it. I have long hair. i LOVED degroms hair
OR maybe it means I can do whatever I want like pitch 200 innings, strike out 10 guys in a row and pitch my team to the world series. If it works, keep the hair!
Seriously. I didn’t realize there were so many grandpas on here, confusing MLB with their front lawns.
I didn’t say I had a problem with it. I have long hair and always loved Jacob’s locks of awesomeness
My wife LOVED it too. Lol
Why do they have to be making a statement, at all? A question of maturity? Their hair length seems abnormally important to you. Be happy we have a little baseball, and deservedly so, during a pandemic.
You might want to invoke Samson, not kryptonite.
Their appearances don’t mean anything to you. Why comment? Other than just to be a judgmental POS?
Im not complaining. I have long hair. Always loved Jacobs hair. I was cracking a joke
This is a topic with Biblical implications. A modern day Delilah might suffice but Salome could provide a more ‘permanent’ solution.
Lol
Wooooooow that’s surprising
Interesting. I wonder is the Indians are open to trading Clevinger this off season?
Doubt it. This is more of just teaching them a lesson.
Agreed
WOW!!!
credit to Cleveland for doing this to good players
I would say it’s a credit to the organization that they are sending a clear message – not to just there team… but to the rest of MLB. The protocol’s are to be taken seriuously!!!
Best part of the move is that the players can’t do anything to get their service time.
They’re healthy at the send down. If they eventually now get covid they can’t prove it was while on the 28-man roster.
Likewise, neither meets high risk status, so, even if they opt out then they neither get paid nor do they get service time.
Of course we cant say service time was the reason for the move. But I do hope Cleveland leaves both down for a good long time.
they dont seem to care about contending anyway. saves them a few bucks this way.
Plesac made the league minimum so that doesn’t work. Clevinger made a HUGE prorated 4 million bucks so I’m gonna have to say this wasn’t much of a post, champ!
except this is the Indians we are speaking about. good chance its to save money/ manipulate service to be
DarkSide, you need to quit while you’re behind
The Indians owner is a Dolan so Darkside’s post probably has some truth as well as the lesson factor. A Dolan will look to save money anywhere they can, doesn’t matter how much they save.
Both guys will still get paid if they are at the alternate site, I’ll top your post AssumeFacts
Very True,McMillan! And Clevinger at the major league rate because he’s an arbitration player!
Saves them money by Pleasac avoiding super 2 status (extra trip through arb instead of league min.) And potentially gaining an extra year of control over Clevinger if they actually keep him down for significant time.
Normally im mostly against the service time manipulation but its probably a fair punishment for pleasac to miss the super 2 cut off as punishment. Gaining an extra year of control over both is ridiculous however. If they had caught covid and/or passed it to the team it would have similar effects as Marlins and Cards
Yawn
Of course you would go there, darkside. Never, ever give anyone credit.
It must really suck to wake up every day and realize you are still you.
no words for this. none. ill let this garbage speak for itself.
These are facts.
The Braves will take either.
Ditto the Angels…
Or the Red Sox.
Or pretty much all 29 other teams.
Good for the Indians.
Carasco is high risk. Francona is high risk. Clevinger and Plesac put people’s lives at risk. Their team’s season at risk and baseball at risk so they could go out on a Saturday night. And Clevinger lied about it afterwards.
Yeah…definitely a bad look for Clevinger.
Well, on a good day, he looks like he double parked his 89 Blazer in front of the stadium
Neither put anyone’s life at risk. It’s the high risk people that should be taking precautions, not everyone else. They made the decision to play this season so anything that happens is only on them.
You still don’t get it?!
This is a team and there was an agreement made on safety protocols. The high risk guys are trusting the low risk guys to honor that agreement and follow the protocols.
If you don’t want to honor that agreement, stay home. Instead, they risked the very guys they are supposed to help protect.
DTD_ATL bad take. Agreed that they knowingly accepted some risk but that doesn’t mean that gives their teammates license to be reckless and break the rules.. rules which the Indians players established and agreed upon, mind you.
DTD_ATL, you are wrong. Cararsco and Francona both have health issues where Covid could prove fatal.
They absolutely put people’s lives at risk.
If you are under 40 with no health issues, this is probably less dangerous than the flu, but if you have health issues, it’s very dangerous.
And if they’re concerned then it’s on them to decide if the risk of being out there is worth the potential harm. All of us are going to work, going to the stores, and being with our friends/family so there’s no reason at all athletes can’t be doing the same.
From Georgia? Your attitude hasn’t worked out in that state, has it?
terrymesmer propaganda machine is back, right on cue. Question Terry, have you had to work or do groceries since March? If not, I’d say you stocked up really well. Some of us normal humans still have to make a living and buy essential needs.
so they have to be down there at least 10 days unless there is a pitching injury on the active roster?
obviously they may keep them down longer..
wonder if they give the indians players a say on bringing them back.
Ahh, so DTD stands for “Dumb Take Dude.” Got it!
The “ATL” pretty much guarantees dumb takes.
Totally agree Halo. Shows alot of integrity on part of Cleveland. Not only did they defy the protocol but then they lied to teammates.
Sends a clear message to their teammates and all baseball, Despite what naysayers and their boys will be boys comments.
Clevinger has a case of million dollar arm, 10 cent head.
From the place that made 1o cent Beer Night famous!
Love these quips. Bringing back memories. Like seeing Todd Pratt, a Red Sox Minor leaguer at the time, who after striking out 3 times in a game, go lift weights and get more muscular and tighter, so the next night he might strike out all four times. Million dollar body, ten cent brain. And yet someone finally got to him and said “ What the heck are you doing?!!!” Had a decent career as a backup after that.
Dude was called “Tank” for a reason.
With the way the Indians crank out quality SP’s. Scott Moss and that bum, Logan Allen, will step right in to the rotation and they won’t miss a beat!
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Bravo Cleveland!!
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
Trade Clevinger to Houston.
The Reds would be fun, too.
Definitly affects Clevinger whose ARB-2; Plesac, not so much (he’s minimum in 2021 or a little more). But Clevinger costs himself some money.
How you like them apples! I wonder how they told them the news? I hope they led with “hey, we’re taking you off of the restricted list”, then dropped the hammer on them.
Good for the Indians. Francona is a no nonsense guy.
Yeah, he wasn’t exactly pleased with Bauer’s overreaction last season either
You’re exactly right.
Maybe now. His Boston team was full of roiders and hot heads.
Boston is Boston, Cleveland is Cleveland.
Thanks for the geography lesson.
Yep. At the end of his Red Sox era Francona’s team resembled an NBA one where typically ‘the inmates run the asylum’.
Uh no. He’s their pal. Remember Puig showing him up last year by not running at all on a ground out?
Francona is still in charge, make no mistake. I like it!
3041 years of service time? I remember way back when he was a rookie. Showing my age here.
User name checks out.
Is that a record?
I had high praise of Plesac before the season, but in this situation, he has blamed other people for his stupid. Clev owned up to it, in what seemed like a great apology. Both need to learn a lesson, and… good job Cleveland?
Clevenger sat in a team meeting about Plesac and didn’t step up and say he was also out with friends. He didn’t own up to it when it counted.
I hope Cleveland keeps them down all season. That would delay Clevenger’s free agency by another year.
Trade Clevinger to the Yankees….then he has to get a haircut.
I bet the GM’s phone has rang continuously today with teams inquiring about Clevinger. If I were him, I’d tell the GM to trade me by Sunday or I’m opting out for the year. I’ll be surprised if he reports after being optioned out.
If Clevenger were to do what you suggest (not report), the Indians would have valid reason to suspend him without pay indefinitely. Not only that, his teammates would turn on him, and no other team in baseball would sign him after the Indians non-tendered him after the season. It would be a really stupid thing for him to not report.
If he opted out, he wouldn’t get paid either. He’d be reinstated by next year or there’d be a grievance, which he’d win. Release him and there’s 29 other teams that would take him.
Yeah, that’s what I’d do. Cut off your nose to spite your face. What did he think was going to happen? That his teammates would throw him a party?
Finally some baseball people have some balls. Maybe the commissioner of baseball should take note.
Kudos to the Cleveland front office for these two moves. It took some balls to option two of their best starting pitchers during an abbreviated 60-game season.
The year of the Cubs complete luck continues. In the Reds series, two of the Reds top 5 players (Senzel and Moose) miss games for COVID precautions and their replacements went 0-21 and now the Cubs miss 2 of the Indians top pitchers for this series only. The Cubs are playing well and they will win the NL Central but at the same time they are a facade and no one fears them come playoff time.
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This was the right move and I’m quite impressed with the team for making this bold statement. I think it’s important for the season to be played out to give fans something to do while waiting out this pandemic. Immaturity shown by these players requires a message to be sent across the league. I’m quite surprised that this came at the hands of an individual team and not the league. Bravo, Indians!
Very much the correct move, but this has “grievance” written all over it.
Maybe but I doubt anyone is going to have any sympathy for these two. The court of public appeal will be very much against such an grievance. I bet their teammates won’t even back them up. They made their own bed and they will have to live with the consequences.
I don’t even think they’d go down that road because it would just be a bad look to fight it and wouldn’t go anywhere.
I think about the Seahawks DB who got cut from the team for sneaking a girl into his hotel room. Obviously here they’re not going to cut young controllable starting pitching, but if they broke team and MLB rules and then CLE wants to option then off the roster, I just don’t see how these two are going to be successful in arguing that the team has to roster them. If Kris Bryant can’t win a grievance when the cubs were basically openly manipulating his service time, there’s no way these two win one after breaking rules.
lawyers would have sympathy for the momey they can gain from it.
Well done Cleveland, its refreshing to see this situation being taken seriously.
Nice to see the way Cleveland is handling this. These guys made an agreement to follow a set of rules and try to keep each other safe and guys need to honor that agreement.
Good riddance. Hopefully they learn to act their age and grow up.
Probably a two part message:
1. Follow the rules.
2. Extending that quarantine out the full 15 days just to be safe.
Overreaction by the organization. Stop being pansies.
Terrific reaction by the Indian organization. They have brass balls!
……and zero brains.
Nice to see you acknowledge your own faults here…
Whether you agree with them or not, the players collectively agreed to be bound by protocols. Violating those carries consequences.
These two jokers broke the rules they agreed to, and lied to try avoiding the consequences. That’s the problem.
And just how am I doing that, doctor?
Thanks for acknowledging my real life title and education.
I point to the use of ‘pansies’ and ‘zero brains’
As stated, you don’t need to like the protocols (the necessity and validity of which your posts attack) to understand a voluntarily entered to and breached agreement to abide by them plus cover up attempt by clevinger/plesac. (Which you don’t defend because you at least appear to understand there is no such valid defense.)
i swear every other article here has someone saying a team is “ballsy” lately. sending down good pitchers to make a statement, calling up guys from the low minors. “ballsy” or stupid? there is a fine line.
clev and plesac clearly are brainless…
Okay, we can all see that you do not care about the ramifications this may have on the health of their teammates sufferfortribe. Fine. Do you happen to care that what they did could very easily do to the tribe the same thing that was done to the Marlins? Would you care if they caused the end of the Indian’s season?
Why do I think that if one of your coworkers infected you and you had to miss a month or so of work without getting paid that you would have a serious problem with it?
Well Javia, I think you’re being to generous to him in your hypothetical too.
MLB as a whole is a 10b/yr business. We don’t know how that will shake down this season because of added revenue in expanded playoffs and lost revenue on gamedays.
HOWEVER, each team is +/- a 333m enterprise if we just average it.
One numbskull can bring the organization to its knees. 5 at once across 5 orgs can take down the whole enterprise.
Its hard to think of another enterprise where one guys “freedom to be an idiot and exercise dumb choices” takes out a 333m or 10b industry, to say nothing of the downstream suppliers and associated industries that are harmed.
Thus enter the protocols which, you know, everyone signed off on that chose to participate.
Thumbs up. Stupid behavior. They know they screwed up. And hopefully their teammates give them big time crap for potentially putting a season in jeopardy, after initially agreeing to the terms of restarting baseball. Given the Cleveland pitching depth and the relative ease of entering the playoffs this year, I think management made a smart play.
I think the main thing stated in this article was that it was decided after a team meeting and that the whole team seems to have been on board with these moves as well. Because it’s their lives that these 2 put in jeopardy by breaking the rules, then lying to your teammates makes it all that much worse. Good for them to sacrifice the fact that these guys would obviously give them a much better chance of competing at a higher level. But more importantly to make sure that their itiotic decision is punished. Hopefully this sends not only a message to all other MLB players but also NFL players as well that this cannot and will not stand as OK!
Agreed.
I’m sure that IG video from Zach Plesac didn’t help his situation either…and what’s funny is he kept repeating how “he doesn’t want to put anyone at risk.” So…why did you break protocol? What a dummy
It’s funny, they break the rules but haven’t tested positive. While other teams follow the rules but have big outbreaks.
The drunk driver often lives while the family of 4 he T-bones does not.
More people die in traffic accidents than from covid.
You must be taking a page out of you know who’s book and making up facts as you go.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported an estimated 36,120 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year.
Know how to use google and fact check before making statements like that?
Covid death totals are overstated. Heck, they’ve even used traffic fatalities for their totals, and that’s from someone else’s book — a county health official.
Look up motorcycle accident victim counted as covid death. Learning is fundamental.
Overstated by 145,000???
my Boy it’s time to lay down your crack pipe either that or are you one of the true believers that this is a hoax? I so get a kick out of how your ilk respond when confronted with facts.
My boy? Ilk? Really? Fancy yourself a linguist?
Remember, opinions are like assh oles, everyone has one.
And some are quite a bit dumber than others.
And at least with those numbers they are pretty much accurate, a traffic death is a traffic death. The COVID-19 death totals have been manipulated quite a bit by faulty accounting. Traffic deaths, suicides, accidents, etc…have all been recorded as Covid deaths in some instances. People that died and never tested were assumed + and tallied as such. People that were + but died in other manners were Covid deaths.
Man, I am missing so much! Did I miss an announcement from QAnon, the Bilderberg Group, the Rothschild family, the New World Order, ANTIFA or that mysterious secret group of Jews, you know Polish Hammer and sufferfortribe, the people you must think run the world? Did they order all of us sheep to do their bidding and run a conspiracy to overinflate the number of Covid deaths? How TF did I not get the memo!? I am the damn treasurer of QAnon after all! I sure as hell will be bringing this up at our next sacred council meeting/virgin sacrifice! Maybe it’s because I am a registered independent…
Idiots
Yep, that about sums up this comment thread.
the Indians better be betting these guys actually learn their lessons, because if they don’t they’ll have sent them down for no gain and a few mediocre fill in starts.
I wonder if this incident would affect Cleveland’s enthusiasm for trading either player? Remember in 2014 when Josh Donaldson got into an argument with Billy Beane over a night off and called Beane “Billy Boy”? Three months later, Josh was a Blue Jay. Or when Patrick Roy told Habs Prez Ronald Corey “That’s my last game in Montreal” back in 1995, and was in an Avalanche jersey within a week?
Rumours have it that Cleveland have been receiving strong offers for Clevinger for quite a while – could this incident be the straw that traded the camel’s back? I am not suggesting that Cleveland would trade him for bubble gum out of anger, but if some of the offers have been very close even before this incident …
And both of those trades resulted in epic fails. Saint Patty was done in Montreal, no going back from embarrassing your goalie and his ego like that. This one doesn’t rank up there with that. The Tribe want to send a very strong message. The “options” mean nothing because they’re both easily established MLBers at this point and the team has been getting strong pitching. If the bats wake up and they roll, these guys will return and the narrative will be how this galvanized that locker room. If the bats don’t rake the pitchers didn’t matter anyway. We’ll know the answer in a few weeks, but these 2 aren’t getting traded anywhere.
Not to mention that the fifth starter won’t be need in this time frame. So if they believe Plutko was that close to Plesac in competition going into the season, then this is basically playing 2 turns in the rotation with a number 5 instead of 3. And maybe an even better chance for Clevinger to work on mechanics. It’s not the completely ridiculous suspension these idiots were calling for equal to peds. I’m quite pleased with this punishment, it can be a win, win, win if all goes well.
Bingo!
As a CSox fan I’m glad to see Plesac demoted. I think these guys are the only MLB players that have both violated virus protocols & lied to the team about it. While Plesac confessed before the flight home to Clev the other guy didn’t.
I think Manfred should suspend him indefinitely in lieu of the Cards suffering A 2nd wave on their flight home from Milw. That was after 3 days of no positive tests.
What should be clear to Manfred is that this virus protocol season is as much about endurance as anything else. Teams that avoid positives & play the most games should be rewarded in the end. That means prioritizing wins over winning % when there is a great disparity between teams.
There is no better ex than Cards vs Brewers. The 4-4 Cards are in 2nd place because they are 2-1 in the div over the 6-7 div rec Brewers who are 10-10. Manfred needs to step in & say today the Brewers are in 2nd place until there is less than a 3W diffierential between the teams.
Teams that suffer PPDs like the Cards need to conserve their resources. It was stupid for the Cards to continue on Sun after Chicago went HR*4 & took a 7-1 lead. They should’ve just forfeited then & prepare for the Cubs DH. Since Cards mgmt is too pigheaded to understand that, Manfred should provide guidance. There is no shame in forfeiting a game during a pandemic so severe it has shutodwn B10 fall sports.
As for the CSox, the SP is not there but they are in the hunt for a WC. They should make moves to both replace Garcia’s role as a utlity player & Lopez’ role as a starter.
I have always said a team can’t waste a year in which their bullpen is looking like one of the best in MLB. They must trade some potential to go after Clev for 2nd place.
If I were Rick Hahn I wouldn’t rush into trading for a starting pitcher by the August 31st deadline. I would absolutely not give up any assets to secure a rental with no guarantee the 2020 season and postseason will be completed. Even a longer term addition might be questionable considering all the young rotation depth the White Sox appear to have for 2021 and beyond.
Health has been an issue but I’m good going into next season with a rotation featuring Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning. That doesn’t even include Reynaldo Lopez and Carlos Rodon, the latter still having one more season of arbitration eligibility remaining provided the team elects to tender him a contract before the December deadline. I also like some of their SP depth beyond the top-5 mentioned that includes a couple of near MLB ready college arms and 3 top prep pitchers who were selected in the past two June Drafts. The White Sox are also expected to ink Cuban RHP Norge Vera when the next international signing period begins.
The White Sox can also bid on a free agent starting pitcher this offseason. I’d rather go that route in lieu of a trade this month. I would imagine fan favorite southpaw Jose Quintana would be a good match for both the player and the organization.