5 impacts Mike Clevinger trade will have on Cleveland Indians

2. Plesac is back

With Clevinger gone, it’s been reported Zach Plesac will re-join the team. Plesac’s been in exile at the alternate training site since breaking COVID-19 guidelines.

With Clevinger now in California, the Indians really need Plesac back.

While Triston McKenzie was awesome in his debut, he was just OK in start number two. In that outing, he pitched with a lead, but could never get his command under control. It should’ve been an easy victory for the hard throwing right-hands, but the Indians had to pull him after four innings to avoid ramping up his pitch count.

That leaves the rotation as Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Carlos Carrasco, Plesac and McKenzie, for now, anyway. It’s still a really good starting five, but the unit has been weakened, just over a month before playoff baseball begins.