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Zach Plesac

Injury Updates: Gregorius, Plesac, Smith, Yajure, Duran

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Didi Gregorius resumed his Triple-A rehab assignment tonight, after halting the assignment on June 10 after just two games.  Gregorius hasn’t played a big league game since May 12 due to a right elbow impingement and a condition known as pseudogout, which might have led to the setback in his rehab.  However, Gregorius now looks to be on track, and if all things go well, could be on pace to rejoin the Phillies before the end of June.  Now in his second season in Philadelphia, Gregorius was off to a slow start with a .229/.266/.364 slash line in his first 128 plate appearances.

More on other sidelined players from around the majors…

  • Indians right-hander Zach Plesac has been on the 10-day injured list for almost a month due to a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb, but he took another step forward in his recovery process today.  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was among those to report that Plesac was set to throw a 40-pitch bullpen session today, with 20 pitches each on flat ground and off a mound.  This is Plesac’s second bullpen session in seven days’ time, so if he emerges in good condition, a rehab assignment might not be too far away.
  • Veteran reliever Joe Smith is also on tap for a bullpen session, with Smith telling reporters (including Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle) that he plans to run through his entire arsenal of pitches when throwing tomorrow.  Elbow soreness sent the Astros righty to the IL on June 9, and he could just need the one bullpen before beginning a minor league rehab assignment.
  • The Pirates shifted right-hander Miguel Yajure from the seven-day minor league IL to the 60-day IL.  Yajure was first sidelined with right elbow/forearm soreness on June 1, and today’s transaction is “just more of a paper move” that “has nothing to do with how he’s progressing or what he’s doing,” manager Derek Shelton told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Yajure only just began throwing, and it appears as though he wasn’t going to be back within 60 days from his initial IL placement anyway — as Mackey notes, the Bucs don’t gain a 40-man roster spot with the move, since Yajure was in the minor leagues when first placed on the injured list.  One of the four players acquired from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade back in January, Yajure has a 2.76 ERA over 16 1/3 MLB innings over the last two seasons.
  • Twins right-handed pitching prospect Jhoan Duran was shut down three days ago due to an elbow strain, though the team announced (hat tip to MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) that surgery wasn’t recommended.  The shutdown will continue for the next 5-6 weeks as Duran’s elbow will continue to be monitored, and there is hope that he can then rehab in time to pitch again before the 2021 season is cover.  Currently ranked as the 80th-best prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, Duran made his Triple-A debut this year but has struggled, posting a 5.06 ERA with 13 walks in 16 innings (though with a 29.33% strikeout rate).

Indians Select Ryan Lavarnway

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The Indians announced they’ve placed catcher Austin Hedges on the seven-day concussion injured list. Veteran backstop Ryan Lavarnway has been selected to the roster to pair with René Rivera in Hedges’ absence. To create 40-man roster space for Lavarnway, Cleveland transferred outfielder Jordan Luplow from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Lavarnway, who’ll get the start behind the plate this afternoon against the Orioles, will be making his first MLB appearance of 2021. It’ll mark his fifth consecutive year getting big league time (and his tenth overall), each of the last five with a different club. Lavarnway has suited up for the A’s, Pirates, Reds and Marlins over the last four years, totaling fewer than twenty plate appearances at each stop. A quintessential third catcher, the 33-year-old has appeared for seven teams in total (the Indians will be his eighth) and hit .215/.272/.344 across 456 MLB plate appearances. He’s hit .258/.313/.551 in 97 trips to the dish this year with Triple-A Columbus.

Hedges missed yesterday’s game with an illness that now appears to be related to a concussion. This is the second time in his MLB career he’s gone on the concussion IL. The defensive specialist has hit just .144/.205/.240 so far this season.

Luplow has been on the injured list since May 27. His transfer rules him out for sixty days from the date of that original placement, so he’ll now be ineligible to return to the majors until late July. Before the injury, the 27-year-old had posted an odd, but fairly productive, .173/.331/.439 line (113 wRC+) with seven homers across 121 plate appearances. Luplow’s on-base and slugging percentages exceed the respective major league averages of .317 and .405 despite the low batting average.

President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti provided reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com and Zack Meisel of the Athletic) updates on a few other injured players this morning. Designated hitter Franmil Reyes and catcher Roberto Pérez could begin minor league rehab assignments within the next week. Starter Zach Plesac, meanwhile, is slated to throw a bullpen session tomorrow and could embark on a rehab assignment of his own in the next couple weeks.

Indians Place Zach Plesac On 10-Day IL

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MAY 26: No surgery for Plesac, but he’ll miss a good amount of time. The Indians will re-evaluate Plesac every seven to 10 days, and he’ll take three weeks to begin a throwing progression, Mandy Bell of MLB.com tweets.

MAY 25: The Indians will place starter Zach Plesac on the 10-day injured list with a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb, Zack Meisel of The Athletic was among those to report. He suffered the injury while “rather aggressively taking off his undershirt,” manager Terry Francona told Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com and other media.

It’s unclear how much time Plesac will miss, but the 26-year-old isn’t someone Cleveland can afford to go without for too long. After all, for the third straight season, Plesac has been one of the Indians’ top starters. He owns a 4.14 ERA/4.43 SIERA with a 16.2 percent strikeout rate, a 5.1 percent walk rate and a personal-high 52.7 percent groundball rate over 58 2/3 innings. Among Indians hurlers, only reigning American League Cy Young winner Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale have amassed more frames this year than Plesac.

Cleveland is in more-than-capable hands with Bieber and Civale as a one-two punch, but the rest of its starting staff loses quite a bit of luster thereafter. Triston McKenzie, whom the team optioned on May 22, as well as Logan Allen and Sam Hentges have struggled over a combined 15 starts. The Indians also demoted Allen a few weeks ago, but he or McKenzie could be candidates to come back with Plesac out of commission.

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

Zach Plesac To Start For Indians On Tuesday

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Right-hander Zach Plesac will make his return to the Indians’ rotation with a start on Tuesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Plesac began the season brilliantly, but he hasn’t appeared in the majors since Aug. 8, after which the Indians optioned him to their alternate training site because he violated coronavirus protocols while on the road. The 25-year-old’s actions temporarily cost the Indians a hurler who performed respectably as a rookie in 2019 and then opened the current campaign with a sterling 1.29 ERA/2.37 FIP with 10.29 K/9 against 0.86 BB/9 across three starts and 21 innings.

Of course, Plesac’s largely back in the Indians’ rotation because they dealt righty Mike Clevinger – who violated COVID-19 protocols alongside Plesac – to the Padres in a blockbuster on Monday. Even without Clevinger in the fray, the Indians boast a formidable rotation, one that also includes Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Carlos Carrasco and Triston McKenzie. That quintet should help the 21-13 AL Central leaders remain in contention over the final month of the regular season.

Indians Recall Mike Clevinger

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Aug. 26: Cleveland has officially recalled Clevinger and optioned catcher Beau Taylor to the alternate site in a corresponding move. It’s worth noting, too, that while there’d been some drama surrounding the possibility that Clevinger’s path to free agency would be delayed if he spent 20 or more days at the alternate site, he’ll fall shy of that mark and remain on track for free agency after the 2022 campaign.

Aug. 25: The Indians announced that right-hander Mike Clevinger will be recalled from their alternate training site prior to tomorrow’s game with the Twins.  Clevinger will get the start in his return to big league action.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Clevinger, who went from being the nominal ace of the Cleveland rotation to being placed on the restricted list, then sent to the club’s alternate training site, and now could even be a trade candidate.  It all stems from the now-infamous incident that saw Clevinger and Zach Plesac violate the Tribe’s COVID-19 protocols by leaving the team hotel for a night out in Chicago, and then not admitting their fault until the club itself discovered the transgression.  Clevinger’s involvement didn’t even come to light until Plesac had already issued an apology to his teammates after being quarantined.

The incident left many Indians players understandably upset at Clevinger and Plesac, particularly after Plesac compounded the problem with an Instagram video blaming the media for allegedly exaggerating the situation.  In regards to Plesac, Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told MLB.com’s Mandy Bell and other reporters that after Clevinger’s recall was announced, Antonetti called Plesac to say “they don’t have an opportunity for him at this time at the Major League level.”  As such, Plesac will continue to pitch at the alternate training site until an opening develops (or, given the August 31 trade deadline is nearing, perhaps until a trade can be worked out).

Amidst all this controversy, the Tribe is 17-12 and in possession of a wild card spot.  Somewhat incredibly, Cleveland has barely missed Clevinger or Plesac, with Shane Bieber posting Cy Young-caliber numbers, Aaron Civale and Carlos Carrasco pitching well, and Triston McKenzie coming off an eye-opening Major League debut.  Adam Plutko hasn’t been as effective, so he will likely be the odd man out now that Clevinger is back…or, perhaps just until Clevinger himself is dealt.

Clevinger has had an up-and-down year even just in terms of his on-field results.  While he has a 3.24 ERA over 16 2/3 innings, ERA indicators (6.25 FIP, 5.38 xFIP, 5.46 SIERA) and batted-ball data (a .376 xwOBA that is much higher than his .338 wOBA) hint that Clevinger hasn’t been himself on the mound.  Clevinger has been aided by a .205 BABIP and a 97.6% strand rate, while already allowing four home runs and 10 walks over his 16 2/3 frames.

Latest On Mike Clevinger

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There’s been plenty of trade speculation since right-handers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac were optioned in the wake of their health-and-safety protocol violations, and while it’s still doesn’t seem as though the club is motivated to trade either player, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that Cleveland is “at least open to listening to offers” on Clevinger.

That’s a sentence that should be met with plenty of disclaimers, of course. Few players in MLB are ever truly “off limits” in today’s game. Front offices will typically listen to just about any offers. If anything, it’s more rare to hear that a player is completely untouchable than to hear that a team will listen. And ESPN’s Jeff Passan underscores that while it’s possible that a team will put together an offer too good for Cleveland to pass up, the team is also by no means shopping him. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal cites execs with other clubs in reporting that the team is “more open” to moving Clevinger than Plesac, which is no surprise given Plesac’s larger slate of club control (five years versus two) and Clevinger’s climbing arbitration salary.

The roadblocks to a Clevinger trade are plentiful. First and foremost is the simple fact that Cleveland is a better team with him in its rotation, and at 17-11, the Indians are a clear postseason favorite. Beyond that, Clevinger’s stock is at a low point. In addition to the recent demotion, the righty also walked 10 batters in 16 2/3 frames in his three starts this season. Most would bet on a pitcher with his track record righting the ship and bouncing back, but the most recent impression he’s made wasn’t necessarily a strong one.

The Indians likely wouldn’t weaken their current depth and sell low on a highly coveted asset simply to make a disciplinary statement; they’d need some big league help in return — perhaps in the outfield — and need to feel that they’re receiving long-term value as well … all without taking on too much salary. As a reminder, Cleveland spent much of the offseason working to curb its payroll, dropping from a $119MM Opening Day in 2019 to a $97MM mark in 2020 (prior to prorating for the shortened season). A club already working to trim its bottom line can’t be expected to add expensive pieces in the wake of substantial revenue loss.

All that said, it’s also not unthinkable that a deal might come together. The emergence of Plesac and Aaron Civale gives Cleveland what looks to be yet another pair of useful arms to add to a perennially deep supply. Triston McKenzie’s impressive debut over the weekend can only have made them more bullish on their depth. As we’ve noted here recently (and as highlighted by both Passan and Rosenthal), the Indians’ outfield has been a disaster. If they can line up on a deal that nets a big league outfielder with comparable (or greater) team control along with some legitimate prospect talent, that could at least speculatively be a framework.

There’s some uncertainty regarding Clevinger’s service time at he moment, as the Indians could technically push his path to free agency back a season should he spend 20 days or more at the alternate site on his current optional assignment. That scenario, though, would require keeping Clevinger on option beyond the Aug. 31 trade deadline — he was optioned on Aug. 14 — and his representatives could well take umbrage and explore a grievance. Clevinger’s track record is excellent, with a 2.97 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 464 1/3 innings dating back to 2017. As it stands, he’s controllable through the 2022 season with a pair of arb raises still in the offing.

There’s no indication that Clevinger and/or Plesac are being dangled to other clubs, but given their recent demotions, it’s to be expected that other clubs will try to pry them away. Virtually every contender is in need of pitching help with injuries up throughout the league, and the idea of acquiring a player with multiple years of control remaining is far more appealing than giving up young talent simply to acquire a month’s worth of regular-season innings, which is all any club is guaranteed with a rental arm in 2020.

Chris Antonetti On Mike Clevinger, Zach Plesac

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The Indians banished right-handers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac to their alternate site a week ago after the two broke coronavirus protocols on the road. Clevinger and Plesac have each thrown five-inning sim games over the past couple days as they hope to work their way back, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic.

The Indians will be able to recall either or both of the beleaguered hurlers Monday, though it’s anyone’s guess if that will happen. If it does, there’s a possibility it will cause friction in Cleveland’s locker room. Back when Clevinger and Plesac were caught, some Indians reportedly considered opting out if they immediately rejoined the team, while right-hander Adam Plutko publicly expressed his displeasure with his rotation mates.

Speaking Friday regarding Clevinger and Plesac, president Chris Antonetti said (full statement here, via Meisel), “The team’s readiness to accept them back into the environment is something that we’ll consider.” At the same time, though, Antonetti noted the Indians’ focus is on “how to build the best team and how do we have the best group of guys at the major league level that give us the best chance to win and win a World Series?” He went on to express hope that Clevinger and Plesac have spent the past week “reflecting” on their mistakes and focusing on how to “earn the trust back of the team.”

Looking solely at on-field impact, it’s hard to argue the Indians aren’t a better team with Clevinger and Plesac in the mix. Clevinger has largely offered front-line production since he broke out in 2017, while Plesac – after a decent but unspectacular rookie year – dominated in three starts and 21 innings this season before the Indians demoted him. Among all pitchers who have thrown at least 20 frames, Plesac ranks first in K/BB ratio (12.00), third in BB/9 (0.86) and fourth in ERA (1.29).

Considering Shane Bieber’s status as the best pitcher in the American League and the emergence of Aaron Civale, the contending Indians may be tempted to recall Clevinger and Plesac in hopes of building a super-rotation and making a World Series run. They’re a couple days away from having that option. In the meantime, Triston McKenzie will fill out the Indians’ starting staff after Bieber, Civale, Carlos Carrasco and Plutko, who owns a 6.88 ERA for the season after the Tigers shelled him Friday.

Latest On Zach Plesac, Mike Clevinger

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The Indians made a statement over the weekend when they optioned right-handers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac to their alternate training site in the wake of the pair’s violation of MLB’s Covid-19 protocols.

Buster Olney and Jeff Passan of ESPN shed further light on the details leading up to the decision to option the two right-handers. Olney reports that multiple teammates considered opting out of the season if Clevinger and Plesac immediately rejoined the club. Passan further reports that veteran lefty Oliver Perez was one of those players, and he adds that Francisco Lindor “was outspoken as well” (though there’s no indication Lindor threatened an opt-out). Plesac took to Instagram last week to lament that the media had overstated his violation of the league’s protocols, but his six-minute rant only further angered teammates, according to both Olney and Passan.

Right-hander Adam Plutko was candid when addressing reporters on the issue last week. That was before Plesac’s video, wherein he stated, “I know how important it is that we must follow these certain procedures,” despite having violated those procedures just 96 hours prior. Asked if he’d seen the video, Indians skipper Terry Francona said that he had and plainly told reporters that he “was disappointed” (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). Plesac has since deleted the video from his Instagram.

Beyond the immediate competitive aspects of the move to option both players, there are also some potentially major service time implications. Passan points out that Clevinger, if he spends 20 or more days at the alternate site, would have his eligibility for free agency pushed back by a year. Because service time is prorated in 2020, each day of the schedule is akin to 2.77 days of big league service time. Clevinger needs to spend at least 48 days of this 67-day season in the Majors to cross into the next service class. That had been considered a given prior to the season but is now a scenario very much worth monitoring. Plesac will graduate to the next service class regardless, but he may no longer be on pace for Super Two status, as he previously was.

The Indians, of course, have a noted high-risk player in Carlos Carrasco, who missed much of the 2019 season following a leukemia diagnosis. Carrasco stunningly was able to return to the mound in September, earning American League Comeback Player of the Year honors in the process. Even looking past any health risks in the locker room, though, both the Marlins and Cardinals have had their schedules blown up by Covid-19 outbreaks within their clubhouses. Violation of the league’s health-and-safety protocols comes with the risk of creating a third such situation. Given that the rest of the team — and the overwhelming majority of big leaguers in general — appear to be following those protocols and remaining at the team hotel when on the road, it’s understandable that teammates were outspoken in their disapproval.

The manner in which the club handles the situation moving forward remains to be seen. Optional assignment rules dictate that both Clevinger and Plesac will need to spend 10 days at the alternate training site unless either is recalled as a replacement for a player who is being placed on the injured list. There will surely be trade speculation leading up to this year’s Aug. 31 deadline, although there’s no indication yet that the organization would take such a drastic action.

For now, the Indians can carry on with a still-strong rotation of Shane Bieber, Carrasco, Aaron Civale and Plutko. Lefty Logan Allen, already on the big league roster, is one option to make a start if needed. Right-hander Jefry Rodriguez, who made eight starts for Cleveland in 2019, is another option down at the team’s alternate site.

Indians Option Mike Clevinger, Zach Plesac

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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.

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