4 of the biggest reasons the Cleveland Guardians need to move on from Zach Plesac

Aug 16, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona (77) takes the ball from starting pitcher Zach Plesac (34) during a pitching change in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 16, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona (77) takes the ball from starting pitcher Zach Plesac (34) during a pitching change in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s time for the Cleveland Guardians to trade Zach Plesac.

Zach Plesac has burned through his goodwill on this team, much like other pitchers in the tree he came from. Please, his good friend Mike Clevinger and his good friend Trevor Bauer have all found themselves in hot water with the Cleveland Guardians for one reason or another.

Two of them, Bauer and Clevinger, were shipped out when their attitudes and egos got to be too big and both guys seemingly brought a little good in each trade, with the Clevinger trade directly responsible for the team’s 2022 emergence.

The tide has now turned on Plesac and fans have had enough of his antics. It’s time for the Guardians to follow suit with Plesac’s agency and cut ties with the young pitcher. While some may just look at his most recent antics in Seattle a couple of weeks ago as the main reason to move on from him, there are actually a few.

Four reasons why it’s time to move on from Zach Plesac

Trevor Bauer connection

Trevor Bauer is the most disliked, dare I say most hated many in baseball for one reason or another. Even if you think the women who have accused him of assault are lying, his antics and character issues are numerous. Being friends with someone who is so constantly antagonistic is concerning. You are the company you keep, so if a guy like Zach Plesac looks up to and admires Bauer, as he’s said in the past, then what negative traits is he picking up from the disgraced pitcher? Clearly, Plesac has himself shown to have behavioral issues that are destructive not just to him but to the team as well.

Constantly injuring himself

I’ve never supported the idea that a player can’t control his emotions. If grown men weren’t expected to control their emotions, there would be so many more cases of domestic violence. Just because you’re mad doesn’t mean you can start assaulting inanimate items. It’s not helpful and it just proves you’re too immature to deal with adversity. Plesac has, for the second straight year, injured himself doing something stupid, and has seemingly hurt the team in the process. Whatever happened to taking a deep breath? More so, what did the Seattle grass do to deserve to be hit?

The Covid situation

This is quite known, and it’s a layered scenario. Essentially, Zach Plesac broke protocol during the 2020 season and risked the lives of his most compromised teammates and coaches, just to swap trading cards. If he was contrite about that, made amends, and apologized, it’d be over. People mess up, but Plesac doubled down and made it a situation where both he and former teammate Mike Clevinger were literally banished from the team for their attitudes about the entire ordeal. Clearly, Plesac is still as immature in 2022 as he was in 2020.

Inconsistent play

Zach Plesac isn’t pitching that well and hasn’t been over the last two seasons. A 4.0 ERA is acceptable if you’re the fifth guy in the rotation. It’s not when you’re expected to be a number two guy. The Guardians have three No. 2 starters, so they have talent at the top of the rotation beyond Plesac, but they don’t have the same depth at this moment that they wish they did. Trading Plesac won’t be easy on the rotation but knowing he can be as inconsistent as anyone is really the only reason you need to consider trading him.

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