Cleveland Indian pitchers Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac had a chance to share their opinion with the Detroit team, but none will still be in the clubhouse.
Clevinger and Plesac violated the team’s code of conduct and fitness protocols last weekend in Chicago, resulting in them being placed on the short list and told they would be quarantined for 72 hours.
On Friday, the Indians reinstated the two pitchers on the short list, but then transferred them to the team’s pick in Eastlake, Ohio. The resolution followed a team assembly in Detroit.
Clevinger and Plesac traveled Thursday night separately to Detroit, where the team has a series opposed to the Tigers this weekend. They both had their entire baseball team with them, as the team was not yet on the list of moves. The Indians held a team assembly on Friday morning with Clevinger and Plesac included to purify the air and allow anyone in the room to speak. After this assembly, the two would be sent somewhere else on the team.
Indian baseball operations President Chris Antonetti said the resolution was not “punitive,” but the most productive selection for the team to win games in the immediate future. Both pitchers will remain in a pitch schedule prior to their next opening, which has not yet been determined.
“A little on the path to this decision, we spend time thinking about what gives our team tonight the ultimate productive chance of winning and giving our team the ultimate productive chance of winning,” Antonetti said in a Zoom call. “The moment we made a decision that made the most sense, to be the ultimate productive team imaginable, we made the decisions we made to decide on them at the choice site. Now it’s up to them to pass by, do homework and be an option for us to move forward as we watch to form the most productive team imaginable and seek to win a World Series.”
Neither Antonetti nor coach Terry Francona revealed many main points of what was said at the team meeting. But he made it clear last week that many club members were frustrated by the movements of Clevinger and Plesac, who not only added a risk to fitness, but were also a source of distraction.
“I don’t need to dig into too many details, but I think there’s a sense that we were looking to be able to focus on the team, shoot all in the same direction and pass out and look to concentrate on winning matches.” Antonetti said. “And don’t worry about anything else that doesn’t help us directly win matches. That’s why we draw attention when we make our decision.”
Plesac posted a six-minute video while driving in which he talked about his movements and blamed the media for the negative representation. He also argued that they never were with more than 8 people.
When asked if she had noticed the video, Francona simply replied: “I was disappointed.