What could Zach Plesac fetch the Cleveland Guardians in a trade?

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Zach Plesac may be traded

The Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Zach Plesac has been a solid pitcher for the team, but he’s largely been just that. A solid option for the team. While Plesac had a good 2019 and a great 2020, his last two years have been at best solid.

In 2021, Plesac had a near 5.00 ERA at 4.67 and in 2022 he’s has a 4.09 ERA. Those aren’t bad numbers by any means, but they’re also not irreplaceable. Clearly, the Guardians have had better pitchers than Plesac and if we’re being honest, he’s probably the team’s fourth-best starter right now.

Shane Bieber is still the ace, but like with Plesac, that 2020 season may have been more of an overreach than a regular occurrence. Then I’d probably say Triston McKenzie could be your number two in the rotation if he cuts down on the high and wild home run pitches. He’s got better “stuff” than Cal Quantrill, but Quantrill doesn’t get beat as often as McKenzie. He’s shown to be more consistent, and less likely to give up huge innings as McKenzie has. Though he’s still getting used to longer seasons as a starter, and arm fatigue for him seems to be real.

I’d keep Quantrill and McKenzie, and continue to work out a deal with Bieber. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t trade Bieber, as he would net the Guards a huge return but I would absolutely see what Plesac could fetch me on the market.

What could Zach Plesac get the Cleveland Guardians in a trade?

Right now the Philadelphia Phillies are looking at Plesac. This will make many long-time Guardian fans remember the Cliff Lee trade that the team did with the Phillies in 2009. The Guardians got back Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Lou Marson, and Jason Donald, with only Carrasco (aka “Cookie”) being worthwhile.

That type of trade is no longer good enough, not after the Mike Clevinger trade brought in Cal Quantrill, Owen Miller, Josh Naylor, Austin Hedges, Gabriel Arias, and Joey Cantillo.

Quantrill, Miller, Hedges, and Naylor are all active on the major league roster right now. Arias is struggling in Triple-A this season and was even worse with the Guardians when he was called up for six games at the start of July. He’s not a good hitter, despite what scouts want to say, hitting just .267 in the minors for his career.

Cantillo, on the other hand, could very well be Plesac’s replacement in 2023. The 22-year-old is posting back-to-back sub-3.00 ERA seasons in Akron and I could easily see him getting called up to Columbus before the end of the 2022 season. He’s currently got a strikeout per nine-inning rate (SO9) of 13.1. Yes, it’s the minors, but put it in context; Bieber has a 10.9 SO9 for his career.

So Cantillo can hurl is what I’m saying.

That’s the type of package that any trade for Plesac would demand back. He’s closer to Clevinger in talent than Lee was, but the Phillies dramatically underpaid for him in that trade. That’s no longer the norm for pitchers the caliber of Plesac.

We know that, as the bar was raised thanks to Clevinger. The Guardians need a Clevinger-like deal for any of their top pitchers, and even more so for Bieber should the team move on from him. Anything less than four major league-ready players, and two top prospects for Plesac is going to be underwhelming.