Clevinger or Plesac; If a Deal Has to Be Made Which One Should the Indians Move?

The Indians have a tough decision to make with just six days to go before the MLB trade deadline, and it has to do with their pitching staff and moving a starter. Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac are two pitchers that the team currently still has sitting at the team's alternate site in Lake County, and while the club is going to need some help in the rotation, if the club does decide to deal one of the pitchers, which one makes more sense to move?

The MLB trade deadline is now less than a week away, and there's still plenty of rumors about the Indians looking to deal one of their better pitchers on the roster to try and shore up an offense that just can't get turn the corner.

The club has had their share of great pitching performances in the first 29 games, and the way that both Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale have stepped up in the rotation does make for an interesting situation with the other starters on the roster.

Triston McKenzie's first MLB start on Saturday got fans excited as well, as the youngster struck out 10 Tigers and got the win as the Indians topped Detroit.

The two pitchers that the team would obviously look to deal are the two that violated team rules in Chicago a few weeks back, Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac.

Both pitchers remain at Lake County at the club's alternate training site, and while they are able now to return to the Major League roster, no decisions have been made when they made return.

Monday Andy Martino of SNY reported that the Indians and Yankees have spoken, and the target of the Yankees wish list is Clevinger, who has a longer track record than Plesac.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Monday that of the two pitchers on the roster, the Indians would be more willing to deal Clevinger, as he's older and of course will have a bigger price tag in the years to come.

Rival executives say the low-revenue Indians are more open to trading Clevinger, whose original $4.1 million salary for 2020 only will increase in his final two years of arbitration. But should one irresponsible act, coupled with an initial failure to own up to it, prompt the Indians to trade a pitcher who had a 2.96 ERA in 447 2/3 innings the previous three seasons?

Clevinger is 42-22 with a 3.22 ERA in five Major League seasons with the Indians, and many felt once the team dealt Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber that Clevinger was truly the team's number one starter.

As Rosenthal reported Clevinger is making $4.1 million this season, and it wouldn't be a shock no matter where he is next season that he's going to double that salary, something that is always on the mind of the Indians front office.

For the most part Clevinger was a good solider with the Tribe up until the incident in Chicago, and reports say both he and Plesac have been humbled by their time at the alternate site.

Plesac is just 25 years old (as compared to Clevinger who is 29 and will be 30 by the start of 2021), and is just in his second season as a starter for the Indians.

The team knows that he has tremendous upside, but again the Chicago incident and what followed after was alarming.

The Instagram video shifting blame to the media made the Indians even more upset and bewildered as again it seemed that he wasn't taking the Chicago incident seriously and was looking more so for a way out and for excuses.

Still, Plesac has way less mileage on his arm, and he is cheaper, so the Indians have to take both things into consideration.

At this point, if a deal is to be made and it involves one of the two pitchers, Clevinger likely would net a bigger return, and the fact this team's offense has been so lackluster means a trade needs to return a player that can be plugged in the starting lineup today.

Think back to last season when the team dealt Bauer in a three-team deal that eventually got them two ready to play outfielders in Franmil Reyes and Yasil Puig.

A deal with the Yankees could net them one of their former first-round picks in Clint Frazier, a player that has been on the Tribe radar for the last two seasons.

Frazier has had his own problems in New York dealing with the media and what not, but maybe a trade of scenery is what he needs.

No matter, the Indians have been wise over the last few seasons in making deals, and they won't pull any sort of trigger on a deal unless there's a comparable return and value to the deal.

It would seem that type of deal would make it more likely that Clevinger would be on the move - but a lot can happen in a week.