Can the Indians Finally Move On in the Clevinger and Plesac Saga?

When it was announced on August 9th that Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Zach Plesac had violated the protocol for COVID-19, it was greeted as a mistake made by a kid, an unfortunate error, but the hope was neither Plesac or any of his teammates would be infected.

The next day it was revealed that Mike Clevinger was with Plesac, and compounded the error by not letting anyone know, and flying back to Cleveland on the team plane.

Suddenly, the Tribe’s vaunted starting rotation was missing two pieces in a shortened season.

Now, a week later, the question of how this will play out is still up in the air.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported yesterday that veteran reliever Oliver Perez said he would opt out if the duo was returned to the active roster, and reportedly, the players as a whole are still very upset (and rightly so) that they were lied to by their teammates.

At the end of the day, the Indians’ organization has to do what is best for themselves both from a clubhouse standpoint and perhaps more importantly a competitive one.

There is no question the 2020 edition of the Tribe is better with Clevinger and Plesac in the starting rotation. 

If they weren’t, then Adam Plutko would have been in the rotation to open the season, and one or both would have been in the satellite camp.

You have to also understand the players know this too.

That’s why talk of releasing the pair or trading them for essentially 20 cents on the dollar doesn’t make sense. The party who loses in this scenario is the Cleveland Indians.

People have referenced the Trevor Bauer transaction last season after the pitcher threw the ball over the center field fence in Kansas City in an act of frustration, but the Tribe got quite a haul for the right-hander, although we still think the deal was made more with 2020 in mind.

Our guess is if the return wasn’t there, Bauer would have finished the season in Cleveland. And we say that understanding Bauer didn’t put his teammates’ health in jeopardy.

At 13-9 during this abbreviated baseball schedule, the Tribe certainly has a solid chance to make the post-season, and perhaps win the division. The strength of the ballclub is the starting pitching. 

That would certainly be diminished without the men who started the second and fifth games of the season.

Without a doubt, the schedule was on the front office’s side in the disciplining of Clevinger and Plesac with three off days in an eight day span. Plutko has started twice in place of the former, and was okay in one start, and not so good in the other.

The team could’ve made the move to send Plesac to the minors anyway with all of the off days to bring up an extra position player or reliever.

We don’t want to marginalize the potential danger the pair put their teammates in, particularly when they saw the situations in Miami and St. Louis. 

Their reputations took a hit, as well they should have, but people need to understand this is not high school or college, so lesson learning cannot be the entire thing here.

This is professional sports and the players get paid to perform to the best of their abilities and the team is trying to win. Clevinger and Plesac help the Indians in that pursuit.

And their teammates should understand they need them to win as well. So, cooler heads need to prevail.

First, both players need to throw themselves on the mercy of the rest of the roster. Be sincere, and in Plesac’s case, stop putting yourself out there on social media.

The team needs to accept this apology and start the healing process. Yes, the trust was broken, and only time will tell if it can be repaired.

There have been “bad guys” who have played Major League Baseball in the past, some who are well known (Ty Cobb), and others who have flown under the radar. We know the Indians’ clubhouse is especially tight knit, but no one says you have to like the people you work with, although it is nice.

It may sound callous to some, but the Cleveland Indians are a better team, and have a better chance to win with Clevinger and Plesac. Let’s hope everyone involved can understand this as well.