Moving Zach Plesac To The Bullpen May Be The Best Option For The Guardians

The Guardians have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and have rolled out just about the same rotation for the last three years. However, it may be time to make a change to it. 

Zach Plesac has been a Cleveland starter for four seasons now. In that time he's posted a 4.04 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. There have been times when Plesac has looked like a solid middle-of-the-rotation pitcher and other times not so much.

Last season Plesac finished the year with a 4.31 ERA and a 3-12 record. I'll admit it, the record looks bad. But we do have to remember that his offense gave him no help and he was among one of the worst pitchers in baseball with run support. 

Another chapter of Plesac's story as a starter is the number of self-inflicted injuries that have cost him and the team. In 2021 Plesac missed time after he fractured his thumb taking off his jersey after a rough start. Then in 2022, he fractured his hand after he punched the ground because of giving up a home run.

With all this being said, I still think that Plesac can contribute to the Guardians, as long as he wears the jersey. However, not as a starter but as a member of the bullpen.

Plesac's best innings over his four-year career are when he pitches from the first to the third. In that split, he has an ERA of 3.81 and a SO/BB of 2.66 so he's not giving away free passes to get on base. Plus, batters have just a .234 average against him in their first plate appearance. 

Anything after that starts to go downhill.

Terry Francona and the coaching staff wouldn't have to worry about filling that vacant starting position with Cody Morries showing flashes of potential as a starter toward the end of the season. Another possibility would be for the Guardians to call up one of their four highly-ranked pitching prospects.