TODAY: Plesac accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers.
JUNE 4: The Guardians have designated right-hander Zach Plesac for assignment, making room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Triston McKenzie to be activated from the 60-day injured list. Plesac had been optioned to Triple-A earlier this month. To make room for McKenzie on the active roster, the club has optioned right-hander Michael Kelly to the Triple-A.
The news brings Plesac’s time as a member of the Guardians to a conclusion that’s surely disappointing for both player and franchise. A twelfth round pick by Cleveland in the 2016 draft, Plesac made his debut in 2019 and began his career on an impressive note, with a solid 3.81 ERA (124 ERA+) in 115 2/3 innings of work.
While Plesac’s 4.94 FIP and strikeout rate of just 18.4% in 2019 both gave plenty of reason for concern, Plesac appeared to take a leap forward during his sophomore season that at the time appeared to cement him as a stalwart of the club’s rotation going forward, even in spite of the fact that he was optioned to the club’s alternate site after violating MLB’s health and safety protocols during the 2020 pandemic season. During the shortened season, Plesac dominated opposing hitters to a 2.28 ERA (196 ERA+) in eight starts, backed up by a solid 3.39 FIP and a greatly improved 27.7% strikeout rate.
Unfortunately, Plesac’s dominance he showcased in 2020 did not last. Plesac’s lack of punch-outs came back in full force in 2021 as he struck out just 16.7% of batters faced, a figure lower than all but five starters with at least 140 innings that season. Consequently, Plesac’s results left plenty to be desired, with a 4.67 ERA that checked in just below league average with a 92 ERA+. When 2022 proved to be more of the same, as Plesac posted an ERA+ of 88 with a strikeout rate of 17.6%, Plesac’s dominant 2020 season quickly began to feel like ancient history.
Still, Plesac managed to secure a spot in the 2023 Opening Day rotation for the Guardians in part due to early injuries to McKenzie and Aaron Civale. That stint in the rotation proved to be disastrous, though, as Plesac posted a ghastly 7.59 ERA across six starts while failing to pitch into the sixth inning in all but one of his appearances. That led the club to option him to Triple-A last month, where he continued to struggle with a 7.56 ERA in 25 innings.
Going forward, the Guardians will have one week to waive or trade Plesac before either assigning him outright to Triple-A or granting him his release. Of course, Plesac has three years of big league service time, giving him the option to reject an outright assignment. That said, he would forgo the remainder of his $2.95MM salary in doing so, making it rather unlikely Plesac decides to test the open market.
Of course, it’s possible things won’t even progress that far. Plesac, as an optionable pitcher who’s still just 28 years old with a history of success int he big leagues, could draw interest from pitching-needy clubs such as the Rockies, Cardinals, or Rays even in spite of his extreme struggles this season.
Plesac’s departure opens the door for McKenzie to make his MLB debut after having the start to his season delayed by a teres major strain. A first-round pick in the 2015 draft by Cleveland, the 25-year-old McKenzie broke out in a big way last season, posting a phenomenal 2.96 ERA (127 ERA+) and 3.59 FIP in 191 1/3 innings with a 25.6% strikeout rate against a walk rate of just 5.9% as the Guardians managed to win the 2022 AL Central crown. McKenzie figures to immediately slot into the top of the club’s rotation alongside Shane Bieber, filling the vacancy left by Cal Quantrill’s placement on the IL earlier this week.
Making room for McKenzie on the active roster is Kelly, who did not make it into a game for the Guardians after being selected to the roster just yesterday. Kelly figures to serve as pitching depth for the Guardians at Triple-A going forward after posting an impressive 1.61 ERA in 22 1/3 innings at the level prior to his brief call-up.
Maybe he can join his terminally goofy uncle Dan on the MLB Network and make it even more dreadful than it already is.
That may be your opinion, but I like DJ Dan. If you actually listen to what he says when he’s not being goofy, you would understand he knows more about baseball when he’s asleep than you’ll ever know awake.
I listen to him and it’s the same old bromidic and platitudinous pablum that’s shoveled out by all those cushion squishers on that show.
The network is a schilling Romper Room for adults.
Hey, everybody! He used fancy words! Let’s listen to him!
Who’s listening.
I wrote it, you read it.
A Curt Schilling romper room- one of the seven circles of hell no doubt
Rays will sign him and one year later will be great
EEEW, DC, I’m moist with your word selection, talk to me about bad boy Please, please me Pleasac, have him give me his best pitch…(hey, Ru Paul can get away with it, why cant I)?
MLB Now with Brian Kenny excellent.
Get a life man
To some of us, they aren’t fancy, they are just words.
An excellent metric-spewing Oompa Loompa maybe.
He and and that spasticating Christopher Russo are the two most nauseating on the network.
Russo looks like a Muppet with his weird flapping mouth. He’s a relic from a forgotten time in sports media and I don’t understand how there’s enough people watching him to justify his show being on MLB Network for this many years.
It’s the best baseball show on TV. Now go back to ESPN.
You first.
Clrrogers lmao.
You’d think anyone with an ounce of intelligence would see how badly they’re getting ratioed and shut up but not you.
I like Dan in MLBN. That off base show is terrible, but Plesac is good
Think about Dan, he’s one of the few show business non phonies, he really is that enthusiastic and brotastic in person. Just a nice guy- kinda like Jim Thome. Contrast the likes of Papi and Swisher whose on camera persona conceal a dark side.
Who did he stiff this time to get funding for his own romper room?
I watch mlb network at work for day games and when that off-base show comes on I get sick to my stomach.
Dan Plesac is not even in the top 10 of annoying personalities on MLB network.
hiflew;
I watched the network for the first time in mid-May for a bit over a week straight. You are correct. This is a terrible way to present MLB nationally to baseball fans. I’d guess they’re after bringing in new younger fans that don’t understand the game and don’t want to – they just want glitz and glitter.
Add that the ever-repeated commercials reek of immaturity and entitlement – a person over 30 having a diet made up of the foods they advertise would be in a cardiac ward within 5 years at the latest.
Yeah but their checks don’t bounce.
The success of the Formula One P.R.department shows the way to go. MLB could be the hottest thing going, all they have to do is hire the guys who turned F1 into a demographic soapy success. And the Please family would play right into that.
You’re not wrong. Our niece and nephews are all huge F1 fans thanks to Netflix and are following F1 on tour this summer
Haven’t watched regularly in years but Pleasc was always one of less enoying analysts on the network. Doing a check of the networks “personalities” page i see a lot of the same people are still there from the early days of the network. I also noticed a lot of hotties there too (Siera Santos, yes please!)…
You can have the so called hotties. I’d rather have someone that says something of substance about the sport the network is supposed to be about.
I agree it’s not the best way to present the sport.
Did somebody say hotties?? Maybe I need to check out this so called MLB Network.
You know who I miss on the network is Mitch Williams and Byrnes
Mitch Williams was hilarious. Great Jim Fregosi stories
Kind of like what you do here in this chat with your lame jokes and bad puns?
Maybe.
Looks like the plesac family is on this site and they are not pleased with you.
Way, way better than Harold Reynolds. Like leagues better
Harold Reynolds has always been a bit too hippie to be taken seriously. Zen this. zen that. You could saw his biggest drawback is being Mister touchy feelie
The best part of The Network is all the attractive people on there.
Guaranteed this dcart clown sent in a tweet on mlb network about a trade proposal and he got made fun of and now he hates all mlb network shows.
I’d trade you for Blue Baron and leukemia of the left nut
The always affable and personable Blue Baron??? What a jewel he is and asset to MLBTR !!!!
Plesack’d 🙁
Hope he sorts things out and works his way back to the bigs
I’ve always thought he’s had middle of the rotation stuff.
would be surprised if we’ve seen the end of his use in a major league rotation just yet (age 28)
someone will trade for him.
He’s not exactly the brightest bulb. He came off as a meathead in 2020 when he posted his Covid protocol “apology” video, so I never expect much longevity from him. Most pitchers age poorly to begin with. He was also never a top 100 prospect as his stuff has always been fringy, but the Tribe had a lot of success maximizing low-end prospects like him. Given that even the Tribe are giving up on him, he’s most likely toast. He’s a swingman at best. Probably just veteran minor league depth.
ya anyone smart enough to not take the Vax is evil
It shouldn’t take long for some team out there to claim him. He might just need a change of scenery.
This might be true. Tito is a great manager but he got ran from Boston for being too lax, and Plesac making essentially the same mistake two years in a row (breaking his pitching hand in anger after a bad start) shoes that Tito wasn’t ever going to straighten him out.
Zach seems immature based on what I have read that has been reported about him. A change of scenery might help, but getting older might play a greater role in his future success than anything else. Hopefully that happens before his talent runs out on him.
Zach’s the living embodiment of Wild thing. Punk rock attitude and tats, sneaking out with Clevinger to break curfew during Covid- upon which the team unceremoniously sent him packing by hiring an Uber to drive him from Chicago back to Eastern Brohio
He’s very for from “punk”.
A punk, but not punk
THAT is an entirely different issue. The MLBPA collectively agreed upon the Covid protocols. Take the conspiracy theories elsewhere
I doubt he listens to Black Flag or CRIME.
Which accomplished what exactly?
@stevec
your completely right on this, just like anything else that may be restricted or not is up for debate here, the facts are mlbpa and mlb both agreed on how to handle covid.
When he broke the MLB COVID protocol, I think it demonstrated his willingness not to follow his employer’s orders or rules. What instructions did he also ignore from the Indians/Guardians?
We may not always agree with the rules or laws of life, but we all suffer the same consequences if we do not follow them and get caught.
@hemlock
well said, perfect example im a union carpenter in the stl area and both mo and il have recreational cannabis, however i can’t touch the stuff because its in the contract i signed when i chose my profession. guess what i would love to smoke but i don’t because 1. that’s what i signed up for and 2. i’m an adult now and well i have to responsible to take care of myself. also if i was an employer especially if my employee is starting at around a mil, (bleep) yea i wanna see how well he can follow rules, and if you don’t like my rules and terms find another employer
brodie-bruce:
Thanks for sharing.
I hate laws and rules as much is the next guy. However, I spend a lot of time photographing animals in the wild. Anything goes for them—there are no laws or rules. Try living like that. No thanks.
Thank God!
Plesac could be a great buy low for pitching needy teams. Cardinals, Nationals, Rockies and Royals should be all over him.
Whitesox.
Haha/ reunited with Clevinger and it feels so good
I hope he makes it to the Rockies, but I have a feeling worse teams will make the claim.
Less than a pro rated $3MM for a starting pitcher, with no guaranteed money obligations going forward, means he won’t change hands by waiver claim. Some team will give up a lotto ticket for him. Its just a question of which team is willing to take on about $1.7MM in salary, while giving up a warm body with some upside. Is a rebuild team going to take on the salary, or is a contending team willing to wait to see if they can correct him in the minors?
Wow! That no one claimed him for a pittance is quite surprising.
There’s worse teams than the Rox? Jk Hi bra, I joke, I joke.
Current standings
SD 27-31
COL 26-34
I guess they should have spent another $150 million in payroll like the Pads so they could get that one extra win. I gotz jokes too. LOL
All good braddha! It ain’t in the journey, it’s in the destination. Let’s see where we end up… but we have been hitting like doodie. Our staff is great, we just need more hits n runs. Enjoy your weekend man!
You as well. At least we will always share our hatred of the D-Bags, Dodgers and Giants.
Our hitting has been our weakness too. Pitching injuries have hurt, but the pen has been great more often than not.
Enjoy yourself as well.
Getting pantsed by the Cubs heh
Enjoy yourself- it’s later than you think
I was thinking KC should swoop him up, pretty low risk especially if he goes unclaimed. Nice Frankenstein project, maybe they can get him to the “he’s alive!” spot. Imagine the kc coaches figuring out something for him Cleveland couldn’t, good boost for a “young” pitching dev dept
Is he fixable ? Gotta believe if Dylan Covey can have multiple claims , Plesac will too.
Covey has been terrible (as expected) with the Phillies. Maybe the Phils will fail to fix Plesac too.
At this point, I’d take half the posters here over Covey.
They should have traded him last year when they had the chance.
Nobody was trading anything for him. He had basically one decent season in 2020, and he’s had three incidents where his immaturity took him off the active roster for the team in a playoff push (breaking quarantine with Clevinger, breaking a thumb getting angry at a shirt button, breaking a hand punching a mound). Those things tank trade value, they never would have gotten anything worthwhile for Plesac.
Five bucks is better than losing him for nothing. But getting rid of him is well worth it.
Maybe they tried to move him? Will we ever know?
He’s terrible. Gives up so many homers. You know he’s awful (and/or problematic) when they released him from AAA, so bad they knew they could never put him in another MLB game.
They haven’t released him. If he clears, he very well could remain in the org as depth.
He’ll be an Athetic before the sun sets
I doubt anyone claims him. Teams will wait to see if they release him so they can sign him for the pro-rated minimum.
He’s owed less that 2M for the rest of the year. I would be surprised if he isn’t claimed
Right; but the teams that can claim him first, such as the A’s font even want to pay that. Other teams may also figure they’re going to release him anyway. We will see I suppose.
He’s not making that much. A shade under $3m, only 2.3 above minimum. You figure two months into the season that’s roughly 1/3 of that already paid. For accounting purposes if he displaces a major league player it’s only a difference of ~$1.5m, which is worthwhile if you’re getting a starter who you think can turn it around and provide you innings.
Just really depends what your scouts and coaches think – if you think they’ve got a fix, he’s definitely a worthwhile gamble.
cubs
No way.
Pirates Have roster openings,and could use the depth for sure.
Definitley wouldn’t mind him, and would prefer him in the long-relief role over DeJong. He has three minor league options remaining too, so the Pirates wouldn’t have to put him on the major league roster either. The SP depth is already being strained, and if a starting pitcher goes down with an injury, they’re going to be in a tough spot. Only other guy they really have is Quinn Priester.
MLB- Plus Marin May be able to work with him,and they could hire Moe Howard’s ghost to bop him in the head to get his head straight.
Pairing him back with Hedges might be what he needs
Dylan Covey’s roster spot in Philly will open up soon for Pleasac, I hope.
Plesac simply isn’t very good add in the distractions he brings and it’s a pretty sweet combo for some desperate bottom of the barrel team/organization.
The Cardinals do not need another like Plesac. They already have Steven Matz, a capable pitcher who is not succeeding at all this season. The only rationale is a”change of scenery” trade, where both teams hope that changing uniforms and ballparks and teammates may be the key to turning a season around.
immature dude. this is long overdue.
Some team will take a chance on him for sure, if his struggles are not a health issue and more of a mechanics issue. My Os could use some SP help for sure
dm867;
Sure…..
What does Cleveland know about teaching their pitchers mechanics.
I wouldn’t mind the O’s taking a look at him. Our current regime’s track record of fixing pitchers is pretty good so far.
“Plesac’s lack of punch-outs came back in full force”
That’s funny considering his real issue may be his lack of self-control while punching inanimate objects and injuring himself in anger.
Right?
If Cleveland couldn’t fix him no team can.
@showmebb- Matt Blake the Yankees pitching coach can’t straighten him out?
Plesac better hope that the ego of some pitching guru gets the best of him, and somebody takes a flier. When CLE is prepared to walk away from you and get nothing in return, that speaks volumes.
It may be that the shock of getting waived finally gets his attention, and he starts to listen. Cleveland knows what to do with pitching, but the student has to believe that they don’t know everything, and listen.
There’s 25 other teams that are going to want to take a chance on Zach Plesac.
@GarryHarris- I couldn’t agree with you more.
More! More! Agree with him more! You can do it!!
Two hand injuries. Wonder if this has a relation to his performance on the mound?
Phillies gotta get in on this.
With how SP needy teams are, especially right now, I would not be shcoked if every team in the league makes some kinda trade offer. Either way, no way he sees waivers, much less clears them.
This guy’s uncle is very condescending on MLB Network. Not that most of the anchors on that show aren’t lol. Vasgersian, Amsinger, etc
Feels like Cleveland always holds on to their pitchers too long when teams are lining up to trade for them.
Could be the consequence of being so budget-conscious. They don’t want to risk losing a known but affordable quantity when they can lose a guy at free agency, get a draft pick, and develop the player through their own system.
The last time Plesac had any trade value, he was in pre-arb status. Not a lot of teams trade pre-arb players that are regulars – especially when they are competing.
Who else did they hold on to for too long? I agree on Plesac (although at the time they didn’t have as much upper level pitching depth as they do now) but he’s about the only one I can think they waited too long to move on from
That’s because they have been contending.
I disagree on this. They traded Cy Young guys like CC and Lee probably too early, couldn’t trade Kluber coming off how good he was, they moved him perfectly and got a great deal, same with Clevinger who is below average and Plesac is in the same boat, he was useful when making the minimum and pitching ok, you don’t pay 3M for a guy with a bloated ERA and no strikeout potential.
Maybe he should try moving to the bullpen. It worked well for his uncle.
Yes, and like his uncle he can parlay that bullpen success into acting like a modern day Jerry Lewis on the MLB Network.
Maybe they can have a telethon.
Maybe uncle Dan can give him pointers on coming out of the bullpen. Someone will give Plesac a chance, maybe a change of scenery is what he needs to get back on track
Dan’s pointer on coming out of the bullpen: “Make sure the door is open.”
He could be a good replacement for Michael Fulmer for the Cubs. Can’t get much worse than Fulmer at this point.
Now that Plesac is off the 40-man, Plesac for Bote (with the Cubs throwing in any of Bote’s 2024 salary above the minimum) might make sense for both teams. The Cubs could keep Plesac in Iowa for a while and see if he’s worth bringing up after the trade deadline, and while Bote is not much above replacement value he can play four positions (123L) as a bench bat during September expanded rosters.
Just a nepo baby coasting on the name and 1 good season. Biggio should be next.
I’m not sure the name Plesac gets you preferential treatment in baseball circles. Zack didn’t go into a powerhouse college program, was drafted in the 12th round and then rolled through the minors. He might not have had a ton of success but seems like he earned it.
PLEASE don’t do the lame “going forward” thing. What else is anyone going to do?
I’m reading through the comments and I think a lot of people are misled on Plesac. Take it from someone who’s watched him pitch for a few years now: you don’t want him.
He has an elite pickoff move, which might be more helpful with the rule changes. But he doesn’t strike anyone out, doesn’t throw hard, gets hit hard more than you’d like, and has well-documented maturity issues. He seems well-liked by his teammates so he’s not a clubhouse cancer or anything, but he’s had two separate IL stints from injuring himself getting frustrated after a bad start.
I guess the idea of a guy who’s still in his prime with the possibility of future control is appealing, and that’s fair. But I really don’t think it’s worth it.
Career 4.20 ERA. Even ig he can be a ~4.50 SP going forward, that’s worth something these days. Look at the slop a lot of teams are rolling out there at SP5. In fact, with how brittle SP are in general, he’s, at worst, a cromulent SP6 to store at AAA.
I think if you have an urgent need in your rotation, you could definitely do worse. I agree with the article that the Rockies would make sense with the amount of guys they’ve lost already this year. And admittedly, I’ve been a little harsher on Plesac for a few years now.
But since the flashes he showed in 2019-20 (which probably aren’t the real him since he hasn’t shown much of that since), his ERA and FIP both peg him around the 4.60-4.70 range. That can help if you’re in a pinch, but he has very limited room for error since he doesn’t miss many bats. He doesn’t really have much in the way of stuff or movement that makes me think a team could fix him up either. I think he pretty much is what he is.
There can definitely be value in that, but most of the comments I’ve seen are people really wanting their teams to get him when I think he’s probably just depth and not someone who can make a big difference.
Darkside- he could be embiggened by a change of scenery.
Are you saying he has a noble spirit or that he’s a small man?
Cards could use him at triple A until flaherty and Monty are traded. Then see what he has. Shouldn’t cost them hardly anything in return.
I agree!!
TB is going wait for this man to get released, sign him to a major league deal for retroactive league minimum, and he’s going to pitch in their rotation for the remainder of the season like an All-Star. Calling it now.
I would try him for the RS. Even if he is no better than Houck or Whitlock, moving either of those two into the BP has to help.
Plesac came up in May of 2019…ahead of schedule…when the then Indians had an emergency need. From then until the end of the shortened 2020 season he was very good over the course of 29 starts…basically a rookie season.
Every team would be happy with a kid that came up and immediately put up 171 IP with a 3.32 ERA, 4.44 FIP, and 2.4 fWAR. The only glitch was his Covid incident with Clevinger and his cavalier semi apology.
The Cleveland FO and a few players were not happy. Clevinger was soon gone. Possibly, the hope in Cleveland was that Plesac would mature.
Plesac began 2021 quite well, a continuation of his previous success. Except for one brutal start in April….6 ER in 2/3 of an inning…his April ERA was 3.86, followed up with a 2.78 May.
At that point in time he had produced very solid numbers over 39 starts and about 230 IP. He looked like a solid MOR that took the ball every fifth day.
Then he threw a hissy fit after a rough outing and broke his thumb. When he came back, it was obvious that it negatively effected his production. His ERA the rest of the way ballooned to 5.03.
In 2022 Plesac was not good overall…but he was inconsistently good at times…a good April, an outstanding June, awful the rest of the time. And then, after giving up a home run, breaking his hand trying to knock out the mound.
I will say this….he is maybe the unluckiest pitcher I’ve ever seen. He has been the starting pitcher three times when his team was no hit. And it seemed automatic for several years that his starts were either delayed or canceled, because of bad weather.
IMO the problem isn’t that Plesac can’t pitch. Hes proven at times…long stretches…that he can. Hes only 28, and he hasn’t had health issues that weren’t self inflicted. He is extremely athletic on the mound. He doesn’t walk batters, and he controls the running game quite well.
The problem is that he can’t control himself. Its not just the well publicized fits of anger. He simply hasn’t been able to limit the damage when things go south. A two out dribbler thru the infield that allows a run to score leads to a two run homer that loses a game. You can watch his body language and see the implosion coming.
IMO there is a solid #4 starter that can eat innings inside…and that has value. The question is whether any org help him unpeel the negative wrappings to find it.
Tough to fix a guy who doesn’t have MLB quality stuff. His potential is a good 4th starter and floor is mop up guy, not sure a team will take on his salary.
Don’t underestimate a good #4 that can put up 170-180 innings, and not miss many turns.
I’m not saying it will happen, but it may be worth a look. Its not merely potential or upside…it’s potential and upside that he has shown over an extended period before.
@CATS44 Agreed. The Mets are among the teams that are and will be desperate for a #4; and in their case even a #5 who can reliably put up an ERA around four and a half, in five and a half innings per start.
Anyone could see this coming. He has great stuff but not the mental capacity to make it happen. Spoiled brat.
His stuff is not great.. or even good anymore. Nobody claimed him because his 90 MPH fastball is getting crushed at AAA.
All teams understand Plesac isn’t a simple fix away from turning things around. First you have to solve his emotional issues, then adjust his mechanics, and then figure out why his velo is way down. He’s a tangled ball of fishing line, and nobody wants that mess.
Among the things this demonstrates is that Baseball-reference’s version of FIP is irretrievably broken
Plesac’s FIP there is 4.50 despite a WHIP of 1.969, 15.6 hits per 9, 6.6 K per 9, and 1.4 HR per 9.
I get the part where they’re normalizing for BABIP, but they’re clearly doing it wrong.
It looks like twenty-nine MLB GM’s agree with you.
So Dombrowski, you REALLY think Dylan Covey is better then this dude?
I don’t understand how the Jays never made a claim either seeing as how they are a starter short now
The Jays just DFAed one embarrassing distraction with marginal talent, they don’t need another.
It is a $2M chance that no one had the guts to take.
Unless a team sees a mechanical issue to fix, what’s the point? The velocity is gone, the command is gone.. AAA hitters are crushing him.
Uncle Dan should give him a job sitting on his lap and being his ventrioqual dummy on the Network.
CK-I do not doubt that many readers here,including you,know a lot more about Plesac than I do.Part of his problem seems to be that he is a young knucklehead.Did his fist “bumps” cause physical damage?The Indians are a good organization for developing pitchers.Could he need to move away and get a new start somewhere else?He did have success at one point.Why did he just lose it all?
Many organizations,even some of the wealthier ones,suffer from a lack of pitching depth.As you are well aware I am sure over the last ten- fifteen years it has become a serious problem for Major League Baseball.
I follow the Pirates and know very little about other teams dexcept the Phillies.I know that both teams lack pitching depth.I know that there are a lot of other wealthy teams for which $2M is peanuts.I do not doubt that the chances of him making a mark this year for another team would be relatively low.
But some teams are really hurting for starting pitching..
The Mark has been made Twenty nine other GM’s agree with you.I do not doubt that it makes sense.
But gamblers take chances,and the overall benefit could be good,especially since he is so controllable.
It is only $2M.
Still somewhat amazing that the Pirates have retooled their farm but without a lot of highly drafted arms or blue chip pitching prospects. I get it. They had to start somewhere
The lack of foresight here is astounding, however. Guys falter. Guys get hurt. Now comes the news tonight that the Pirates will call up a pitcher to make a start against the Cubs this week, but it won’t be Quinn Priester
So if Priester “isn’t ready” but is the most talented of the guys at AAA, it kind of makes you wonder what is being called up. A reliever game? Sheesh
Beyond knowing that he hasn’t been the same since 2020, I don’t know much about Plesac but if what Dream says is true—that Pirates top pitching prospects are at AA and lower—this is going to be a recurring nightmare
Corn-Most of these Cleveland fans do not think much of Plesac and none of the other GM’s thought that he was worth the money.
The Pirates as you well know do not have a deep minor league pitching staff so the loss of two starting and two potential starting pitchers to serious arm problems for at least one year especially affects them.Most people forget about Kranick but he has looked decent when he has pitched for the Pirates.
I would do that trade immediately. Plesac for Bote and 100% of his remaining salary. It’s not that much anyway. Might as well pay it all and the Guardians can do what they want with Bote. Option him to their Triple A affiliate or they could just outright fire him making him a free agent.