CLEVELAND, Ohio – Indians who started pitcher Zach Plesac admitted Sunday in a statement released by the team that he “made a bad choice to leave the hotel” on Saturday when he went with friends in Chicago, hours after he picked up Cleveland after a win against the White Sox.
The 25-year-old resident of Crown Pointe, India asked his teammates, the Indian organization and its fans for fear of protocols imposed by Major League Baseball and the code of conduct agreed by Cleveland players to spread coronavirus among the players.
“I understand that in these times of uncertainty, I need to be more alert and responsible,” read Plesac’s statement. “I intend to earn my forgiveness from my teammates and work back.”
That exactly when it could take place again at work is still in the air, according to Indian president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti. The Indians will not need a fifth starter until Aug. 22 against Detroit, so the club is already considering a series of roster moves that Plesac could have driven to the ball pain as an option to the alternative site in Eastlake, where he could stretch to stay.
The club also has two players in Tyler Naquin and Roberto Perez who are preparing to come off the injured list and will require space on the 28-man roster.
“We have a lot of things we need to work on to figure out what the next set of moves might be,” Antonetti said. “There are a lot of moving parts.”
But Antonetti insisted that ensuring the health and safety of the players and the travel party of the Indians was what Plesac had to isolate on Sunday.
“We all got together and talked about the importance of keeping an eye on each other and making sure we did our best to minimize risk,” Antonetti said. “Unfortunately, Zach’s behavior was not consistent with that.”
Antonetti said Plesac will be in self-warranty for 72 hours or longer and will begin receiving daily COVID-19 tests. Before leaving Chicago, Plesac and his driver were both tested on the side of care. The Indians hired a car service to transport Plesac back to Cleveland instead of flying home with his teammates.
Antonetti said Indian players were allowed to play ahead of Sunday’s game and spent some time thinking about the situation.
“That’s feedback we’ll get here the next day or two and that reflects on what our net steps may be,” Antonetti said.
Teammates like Shane Bieber, said the players will deal with Plesac’s decision within the clubhouse.
“We love Zach and we support him, but he screwed up,” Bieber said. “What we talked about as a team was that we had to concentrate on one thing at a time and that was the game. I’m proud of the guys that they can handle to go out and get the win. We’re going to this own house and we’ll see where it goes from here. ”
Through three starts, Plesac was among the most dominant starting pitchers of the Indians, allowing only three runs in 21 innings with 24 strikeouts and two walks.
Despite Plesac re-emerging for Cleveland, he was still able to gain discipline from the organization. Manager Terry Francona was not at the club in Chicago because he is recovering from a gastrointestinal issue that plagued him for more than a week of games. Antonetti said further talks this week will take place with Francona likely involved.
“At this point, we will take some time and then assess what the appropriate next steps might be,” Antonetti said.
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